Survivor: Kumo Island
by justmegaman
Summary: 18 individuals from across the ninja world have come to Kumo Island to play Survivor. They must compete in grueling challenges, and every three days, they must vote off one of their own. The last one standing earns the right to be called...Sole Survivor.
1. Michael Jackson and Luke Skywalker

18 individuals paddled across the blue waters in three groups of six, heading for the main beach of Kumo Island, a secluded training area. They had already been divided into three tribes through random selection, and now were ready for a jutsu-free adventure of a lifetime…Survivor.

*Ancient Voices plays; names and short clips of the people with those names scroll by, with tribe names cutting in between*

SHODAI:

Naruto Uzumaki

Sakura Haruno

Kakashi Hatake

Maito Gai

Kushina Uzumaki

Karin

NIDAIME:

Sasuke Uchiha

Rock Lee

Tenten

Shikamaru Nara

Juugo

Pein

SANDAIME:

Itachi Uchiha

Deidara

Minato Namikaze

Neji Hyuga

Suigetsu Hozuki

Ino Yamanaka

_39 days. Three tribes. One survivor._

"Come on in, guys!" Iruka Umino shouted. The Academy Teacher was dressed in his usual basic ensemble, with a green Konoha vest, his long hair bundled up in spikes in the back, and a black shirt and pair of slacks. He had an enthusiastic grin on his face and seemed eager for the game he was hosting to start.

Everyone pulled up to shore on their rafts and filed out onto the beach, staying within their three tribes. Naruto gave a hard glare over to Sasuke, who simply ignored him. If he could make it to the merge or get switched onto his tribe, maybe he could finally make a breakthrough with him.

Meanwhile, Minato and Kushina both stared at their son warmly. They had managed to jump through a loophole to participate in this game, and Kushina was already on his tribe. Minato was sure they would both make it to the merge so they could meet with each other again.

Finally, Shikamaru looked half-asleep as he stood at the back of the pack in his tribe. He didn't particularly care for this game, but he figured that he would try his best now that he had been forced here.

"Now then, you'll have to survive here in the wilderness on Kumo Island for 39 days," explained Iruka, and he stepped aside to let the tribes see the three barrels of rice, accompanied by machetes, canteens, and large cooking pots, behind him. "Jutsu is totally off-limits, so don't even think about using it. We will find you with the cameras, and we will disqualify you. Now then, paths have been outlined leading to your camps. Follow them, and bring your rice barrel, machete, canteen, and cooking pot. We will meet back here in two days for the first immunity challenge, which will also include a reward."

Everyone nodded solemnly. Someone from each tribe took one item, and everyone left down different paths. They had already put on their buffs before getting on their rafts; green for Shodai, blue for Nidaime, orange for Sandaime.

**Shodai, Day 1:**

The Shodai tribe arrived at their camp to see a tall green flag waving proudly in the wind in the center of the clearing, and various chopped logs surrounded the flag. Gai immediately ran up to the flag and saluted.

"We gotta stand tall for our tribe!" said Gai eagerly, before turning to the logs on the ground and scooping them up. "Now, let's get that shelter done quick!"

_Sakura: "Great. We're about two minutes into Day 1 and Gai's already annoying me with his peppiness. *groans* Either I've gotta be voted out soon or he's gotta be."_

Naruto slowly trudged up next to Gai and began assisting him, toying with some rope and twine that he had brought as a comfort item. They began tying logs and bamboo together, and Kakashi helped out by gathering large stones as cornerstones and supports. They quickly started making progress, and they were nearly done on the shelter's second wall when Kushina approached Naruto with a smile.

"Um…Naruto?" Kushina asked tenderly. He turned around and grinned widely at his mother. He immediately hugged her, not giving her time to speak.

"I know," he whispered happily. "I'm so happy to see you. I'm going to keep you in this game as long as possible. Don't worry."

She beamed upon hearing her son's words and patted him on the back, returning the hug. Gai, Kakashi, and Sakura watched awkwardly as the mother and son embraced. Karin was off to the side, admiring a picture of Sasuke that she had smuggled into the game by hiding it in her swimsuit.

_Karin: "Oh…why can't me and Sasuke be on the same tribe? He's so gorgeous and wonderful and talented! And someday we're gonna get married and have three kids, Wolfgang, Charizard, and Sasuke Jr. Tee hee!"_

Soon after, everybody got back to work, and Sakura began thinking up a strategy, sitting near the bushes. She chewed her thumb furiously, her eyes closed tight. She glanced over at Naruto, knowing she could persuade him into an alliance with her.

_Sakura: "I can definitely get Naruto on my side…but just two might not be enough. I could use control of half this tribe. But who do I pick? Gai, the dumb muscle? Kakashi, the brainy speedster? Kushina, the sweet lady? Strategy is so tough in this game…"_

**Nidaime, Day 1:**

It was a bit later in the day; Lee and Juugo were doing all the work on the shelter, giving everyone else an excuse to sit around and sunbathe. Lee frequently stole annoyed glances at Shikamaru sleeping in the shade of a palm tree, Tenten soaking up sunrays on the beach, and Pein sitting darkly in a separated corner.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was supervising the building, telling Lee and Juugo when and where to place the building materials. Juugo followed his command faithfully, while Lee just became increasingly more frustrated.

_Lee: "I am not sure if I like that Sasuke believes he is the boss around camp. It installs cockiness and does not let the power of youth come through at full force! I do not wish to oppose him, but I will if I must!"_

"All right, that's enough for today," Sasuke said forcefully, putting his hands on his hips. "We can stop building for now. Somebody, cook the rice and somebody else, gather a little more water. We can boil that to clean it of germs."

"I'll go on cooking duty," said Juugo quietly, as he took some sticks and rubbed them together at lightning speed, trying to make fire.

_Juugo: "My strategy is to stay quiet, and be the cook and the provider around camp. That way, alliances or anything can't make me angry and put me into Curse Seal form, and nobody will vote me out because I'm one feeding them."_

Before long, Juugo managed to start a fire, and he quickly fed it with twigs and leaves to make it rise. Everyone cheered and clapped him on the back, congratulating him for his accomplishment. He quickly assembled a poor-looking pit for the fire, digging around the fire and putting stones around the pit. He then poured rice into the cooking pot and held the pot over the fire, heating up the food.

_Shikamaru: "The rice Juugo made for dinner was pretty good. Could have been better, but hey, I'm not complaining. We could be eating poisonous slugs or something."_

**Sandaime, Night 1:**

It was now about 9:00 PM, and the entire Sandaime tribe was gathered in their shelter, telling each other about who they were. Minato had smartly brought an LED flashlight as his comfort item, and it was placed in the shelter's center to light it up in place of a fire, which they had failed to build that day.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha," Itachi said simply, his face dark despite the LED lights that should be exposing his facial features. "I am a dangerous man. A member of Akatsuki. I won't injure any of you, as I have more honor than that, but do not take me lightly."

Minato nodded in understanding, scratching the back of his head and disgustedly finding a huge spider was there. He squished it posthaste, letting the remains drop to the ground from off his pointer finger.

"I am a member of the honorable Hyuga clan," said Neji quietly, looking downwards calmly. He was sitting cross-legged, his hands laid stiltedly in his lap. "My eyes let me see everything…if only we could use jutsu. My Byakugan would be such great help."

He continued to look solemnly down at his hands, creeping Suigetsu out a little.

_Suigetsu: "Okay, so here's this feminine guy, with long black hair and smooth skin. He's looking soulfully down at his hands and lamenting about how he can't use his awesome powers. I think he's some kind of weird combo of Michael Jackson and Luke Skywlaker."_

"That's nice!" Ino shouted, acting quite peppy in order to make herself feel more comfortable around the dominantly male tribe. "Well, my name's Ino, and even though I look pretty and all, trust me, I can compete with the best of them! I'm not the best physically, but I've got a real brain on me, and I plan to use it. Trust me, there was this one time that—"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes and plugged his ears, while Deidara groaned and did likewise.

_Deidara: "Ino is seriously irritating already. Her voice kept ringing through my ears all night long, and I tell ya, it took me forever to get to sleep. If she's that much of an annoyance for the rest of the game, she's definitely gonna have to go soon."_

Soon enough, the small meet-and-greet ended, and they all folded into their sleeping bags, anticipating the happenings of tomorrow…

**Nidaime, Day 2:**

Directly upon the start of the day, at 6:30 am sharp, Sasuke sauntered over to Juugo, who had just awoken and was sleepily wandering around the outside of the half-constructed shelter. Juugo eyed him curiously as he got up in front of him, smiling persuasively.

"Listen, Juugo," said Sasuke, crossing his arms and looking at his cohort sternly. "We know each other from our allegiance in Taka. Due to that, I would have to propose that we form an alliance. We can easily pull in Lee and make it a strong-man alliance. What do you say?"

Juugo raised his eyebrows, considering Sasuke's offer for a few seconds before shrugging and nodding simultaneously. Sasuke gave him a thumbs-up and slunk away into the woods to grab some grapefruits, as they were growing virulently at the edge of the forest.

_Juugo: "It's clear that Sasuke is already trying to think strategically. That's good, because it suits him. I'd rather just stick with my strategy of staying in the background and doing what Sasuke tells me. It's the safest route to take for me and everybody else here."_

Soon afterwards, Pein awoke and got out of the shelter, swiftly heading for the fire and sitting in front of it with a bored expression on his face. Everybody soon rose from their slumber, assembling themselves around camp. Lee and Juugo began work on the shelter again, getting by without Sasuke.

When Sasuke came back, he noticed the perfect opportunity to make a second alliance; a backup plan. Pein was the loner, as he had yet to speak to any of his tribemates. If Sasuke got him right now, he imagined he could manipulate him into joining up with him so he could admonish such a reputation.

He then took Pein aside into the forest, asking him if he wanted to join him in an alliance. Pein just stared at him for a second, then gave him a curt, "No," and turned away. Sasuke was taken aback.

"Um…are you sure?" Sasuke asked warily, tapping on his shoulder so he would turn back to him. "Trust me, I'll have your back. I just need a promise from you that you're in on this, and I'll keep you safe. What do you say?"

Pein shrugged his hand off of his shoulder and trotted away. Sasuke was left standing smack in the middle of the forest, dumbfounded by Pein's forceful refusal.

_Sasuke: "I have no clue what Pein's strategy is, but whatever it is, it's not working out for him. I'll have to vote him out if he continues to isolate himself from the tribe and not pull his weight around camp."_

_Pein: "Why should I bother interacting with these fools? They will never know my true pain…I just came out here so I could see if it would decrease on such an island continent…and it has not, so they may as well kick me off this place…"_

**Sandaime, Day 2:**

Everyone chowed down on the grilled fish that Itachi had caught and prepared, mixed with a little bit of rice. They continually congratulated him on the great meal, happily chomping it. Itachi gave a very small smile as he leaned his face down over his own plate, slowly eating his own delicacy.

_Minato: "Not only did Itachi manage to catch plenty of fish just with a makeshift fishing spear, but he also cooked them excellently. We definitely will have to keep him around if he keeps providing like this."_

After lunch, Minato thought up a plan and decided to act on it. He took the two Akatsuki members, Itachi and Deidara, aside, finding them dangerous but oddly trustworthy. He then began making his magic.

"Listen," breathed Minato, staying quiet so Neji, who was eating a nectarine nearby, couldn't hear him. "I think we need to form an alliance. You've got to be one step ahead to be safe in this game, and I don't think the other three are even thinking about alliances at this point in time, so we'll have the numbers."

Itachi nodded slowly at Minato's thoughts, and Deidara rubbed his chin, smirking.

"Great idea, and I'm in, but think about it," whispered Deidara, a gleam in his eye as he looked at Minato. "Do we really need alliances right now? It's obvious that our tribe is one of the strongest on the block, so we probably won't have to go to Tribal Council."

"I know that, but it's like I said. One step ahead." Minato looked over at Itachi, wondering about what he thought.

"I agree with Deidara, but I'm also in. If we band together, we can get rid of the others in this tribe," he said. "And while we don't have to align with Neji, that doesn't mean he can't vote with us. He can help us iron out the weak links, Ino and Suigetsu."

Minato and Deidara nodded in agreement, and they swiftly adjourned, as it seemed like Neji was starting to hear bits and pieces of their conversation; he had actually only heard "align" and "one step ahead," but that was enough, and he flipped his head around, trying to catch site of any conspirators.

He only saw a lot of underbrush.

He shrugged carelessly, going back to his nectarine.

**Shodai, Day 3:**

Things hadn't been going too well at the Shodai tribe. Their shelter was barely even halfway finished, and their attempts to start fire had failed horrifically. Sakura had managed to align herself with Naruto, but hadn't decided on anyone else to put herself with. Finally, a minor incident had occurred with a bear, but it wasn't a big deal, as Gai quickly killed the wild beast with brute force.

"Hey, guys, look! Tree mail!" exclaimed Naruto, motioning for his tribe to come over and look. Everyone gathered around as he unraveled a scroll of parchment, and read the message scripted on it.

"Teamwork's required in this next challenge,

Maybe friendship can help you out,

If you haven't made any friends in the game,

Then immunity and fire you may be without."

"Wow...terrible poem," mumbled Kakashi. Naruto chuckled and nodded, while Gai quickly led the way to the challenge area.

**Nidaime, Day 3:**

"Teamwork? We should be able to work together well," said Lee, smiling weakly. The reclusive Pein looked at the message in minor interest, before going to the front of the pack to lead the way. Sasuke looked at the orange-haired man uncertainly, staying at the back with Juugo.

_Sasuke: "Pein hasn't cared to even talk to any of us. If he hurts us in the challenge today, he better realize that it was his fault._"

**Challenge Area, Day 3:**

"Come on in, guys!" Iruka shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth, as the three tribes marched into the area containing the challenge. It was a large beach with three large sets of chain gangs lying on the ground, three colored mats further down the beach, and several lumps jutting out of the sand.

"All right, welcome to your first challenge; combined reward and immunity," announced Iruka, smiling warmly at the three tribes as he stood in front of the chain gangs. "What we'll be doing today is a race. The three tribes will have to attach each other to these chain gangs, and then will race down the beach. However, it isn't just a matter of getting to your team's mat first; you have to find the six keys required to unlock yourselves from the chain gang. Once you arrive on the mat, you have to use the keys to unlock each other; there are six locks for all you, and only one key works on a certain lock. Thus, you are required to find all six keys for your team, hidden in the sand. Your three paths are divided by white lines, so there isn't any confusion on whose keys are whose. The first team to make it to their mat and unlock all their team members from the chain gang wins immunity, and..."

He revealed a box of one hundred waterproof matches, taking them out of his pocket. "These, as well as half of the all-important immunity idol. The second team to finish gains the other half, keeping them away from Tribal Council; the place where the last place team must go. Worth playing for?"

Everyone cheered loudly, clapping their hands and whooping crazily.

"All right, everyone, get yourselves in the chains!" Everyone did so, attaching themselves together and getting at the starting lines of their respective paths. "On your mark...get set...GO!"

Everyone immediately set off, and Deidara noticed a lump in the sand right off, indicating it to his team. They all paused so he could lean down and grab it. Tenten also noticed a lump in the sand, but didn't point it out to her team, and so he grabbed it and brought them all down with her, making them all scream as they tumbled to the ground in one big pile, Tenten just barely hanging on to the key she had gotten. Sakura noticed two keys right next to each other, showed them to her team, and got them, holding one herself and handing one off to Karin.

"Shodai's got a lead with two keys! Sandaime's ahead on their path with one key! Nidaime piled up near the start with one key!" Iruka shouted, watching intently as the challenge continued. "Kakashi just got another key for Shodai! Itachi got...one, two...three keys for Sandaime! They're in the lead in speed and they have four keys! Nidaime just got another key, Sasuke with one...Juugo got another! Nidaime with three keys, but they're at the back of the pack! Shodai in the middle with three...no, now four keys! Sandaime just got another, still way ahead!"

Suigetsu spotted a lump a few yards behind him and quickly dove for it, bringing he and his team backwards and down to the ground. He brushed the sand aside to find it had simply been a lump of sand. He smacked the white grain in disappointment, while Shodai got another key, now at five like them. Deidara noticed another and dragged the team in a different direction, managing to find an actual key and snatch it up. But, Shodai had just found their last key right in front of their mat, and now were working with lightning speed. Sandaime crawled onto their nearby mat and began working. Nidaime, dangerously close to their mat, attained their fifth key.

"Shodai and Sandaime begin working!" yelled Iruka, crouching down and following the chaos with his dark eyes. "Shodai immediately unlocks Naruto! Working on Gai! Sandaime trying to get Itachi out of there! Nidaime gets their sixth key! Sandaime has Itachi and they now get Minato! Shodai just got Gai and then Karin! This is so close, folks! Nidaime is on their mat, workin' on Tenten! Shodai has gotten Sakura! Nidaime got Tenten, on Sasuke! Sandaime finally has unlocked Ino! It's 4 for Shodai, 3 for Sandaime, 1 for Nidaime! Sandaime just nailed Deidara! Nidaime got Sasuke, they're now on Shikamaru! Shodai has Kushina, final target is Kakashi!"

Naruto frantically shoved used keys into Kakashi's lock, before he came across the final, unused key; he slid it into the lock and turned it, and finally, he heard the satisfying click of tiny tumblers.

"SHODAI WINS REWARD AND IMMUNITY!" screamed Iruka, and the entire Shodai tribe rose and cheered in triumph, running over to Iruka and getting their matches. Iruka handed Kakashi half of the immunity idol, and he held it tight to his chest.

"All right, it's still not time to give up for Nidaime and Sandaime! You still have to get the other half of the immunity idol!" Iruka pointed out, and Nidaime swiftly resumed working, and they got Shikamaru out. They tried to unlock Pein's lock, but he refused to let them.

"Pein, let me put this key in your lock," said Sasuke in frustration.

"No. I won't allow you," Pein said simply, turning he and his chained foot away.

"Pein, you have to 'allow me!' How else will we win this challenge?" Sasuke questioned, raising an eyebrow in rage. Pein shrugged, and Sasuke just gave in and tried to unlock Lee. But it was already too late. Sandaime had unlocked their final member, Suigetsu, and jumped up with bated breath, waiting for Iruka to announce their win.

"SANDAIME WINS IMMUNITY!" exclaimed Iruka, and Nidaime groaned in disappointment. They unlocked Lee and Juugo, and let Pein unlock himself.

As Sandaime ran up and grabbed the bottom half of the idol, Nidaime slunk up with glum looks.

"Nidaime, I've got nothing for you but a date with me at Tribal Council tonight. See you there," said Iruka, and he waved to them as they walked back to camp, while Shodai and Sandaime went back to camp with expressions of relief.

**Nidaime, Day 3:**

Sasuke glared at Pein all the way back to camp, and he continued to do so when they got back.

_Sasuke: "It's hard for me to forgive Pein, seeing as how he screwed us over in the challenge. He has got to go, and I'm going to tell Juugo and pull Lee into our alliance."_

Sasuke approached Lee, who was chatting idly with a worried-looking Tenten. Lee smiled at Sasuke briefly before turning back to Tenten, trying to comfort her.

"Listen, Tenten, I doubt that anyone is even possibly thinking of voting one such as you out!" exclaimed Lee, giving her a thumbs-up. "Sure, you've been sunbathing more than you've been working...but you got two keys for us in the challenge! You were a big help!"

Tenten just shook her head and walked off, still clearly distraught. Sasuke heard this particular tidbit of the conversation, and he began talking with Lee.

"Listen," whispered Sasuke into Lee's ear. "I'll keep you and Tenten safe if you vote with me tonight. I want Pein out. He ruined things for us in the challenge and he's a complete loner. Deal?"

Lee thought about it for a few seconds, before he nodded in reply. Sasuke then ran off to tell Juugo of this. While Juugo agreed to it, he received it with less enthusiasm.

_Juugo: "I don't understand why Sasuke isn't targeting Tenten. She's done hardly anything around camp. She just lies on the beach and soaks up the rays. She needs to go. I dunno if I should stick with my strategy and just mindlessly follow Sasuke, or if I should diverge into my own path and vote out Tenten...I'll have to decide tonight."_

Meanwhile, Pein was sitting in a secluded part of the forest, staring at the setting sun.

_Pein: "I have not at all had a good time here on this island...I just don't care for this competition. However, I can't vote myself out, and I am too overwhelmed to quit. I will simply vote for the weakest link."_

**Tribal Council:**

The six members of the Nidaime tribe walked into the Tribal Council area. It was a roofless, open room made out of stone, with six torches hanging on the wall. A blazing fire was lit in the center of the room, entombed within a stone pit. Iruka sat in front of the flames, smiling at the castaways.

"Welcome to Tribal Council, Nidaime tribe," said Iruka, gesturing to the torches on the wall. "Everybody grab a torch and dip it in the fire. Fire represents life in this game. When your fire goes out, you are forced to leave."

They all followed Iruka's instructions, lighting their torches, and they then hung them back up on the wall. They took their seats on stumps in front of Iruka, and accordingly, in front of the warm fire.

"So, Lee," began Iruka. "Have things been going well around camp?"

"Well, our shelter is not quite finished yet, but we have managed to craft a fire!" Lee exclaimed, saluting Iruka dutifully. "It keeps us warm throughout the cold nights! I am very grateful for it!"

"Good," said Iruka simply, as he turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, how do you vote tonight? Are you using any particular strategy?"

"Yes. I am voting for the one who got us here on the first place, more or less," said Sasuke. Juugo gulped while Sasuke said this, flicking his eyes between both Pein and Tenten. Which one?

"Pein, have you been enjoying your time out here?" Iruka asked, staring solemnly at the dull-looking man.

Pein just shook his head, giving no response. Iruka rose an eyebrow. "Pein?"

Pein continued to not answer, looking away. Shikamaru stared gravely at him, wondering what his beef was.

"Well, it's time to vote. Lee, you're up first."

Lee went to vote.

_Lee: Pein: This is the best way to keep Tenten, my friend, from going home. Plus, Sasuke promised me protection!_

Shikamaru went to vote.

Sasuke went to vote.

_Sasuke: Pein: You screwed us over in that challenge. See ya._

Tenten went to vote.

Pein went to vote.

_Pein: Tenten: You are the Weakest Link. Goodbye._

Juugo went to vote.

_Juugo: ?: Sorry about this._

Iruka went to get the voting urn, and returned with it in his arms. "Just a reminder, once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately." Everyone nodded. "Now then, I'll tally the votes."

"First vote, Pein." Pein showed no emotion.

"Pein."

"Tenten."

"Pein."

"Shikamaru. Three Pein, one Tenten, one Shikamaru." Shikamaru shrugged, not fazed. Pein wasn't, either, but Tenten had gone back into a state of nerves.

...

...

"First person voted out of Survivor: Kumo Island...Pein. You need to bring me your torch." Pein still looked totally unaffected; other than actually seeming just a little grateful. He went to get his torch, before brandishing it before Iruka.

"Pein, the tribe has spoken." Iruka snuffed out Pein's torch, and Pein gave a brief, curt nod before leaving, not acknowledging anyone.

"Well, it looks like the ones that lose you challenges are the ones that need to leave over at the Nidaime tribe. Grab your torches, good night." Everyone did so, walking out of the Tribal Council area and back towards camp. Would they have to vote out even more valuable members in the future? Hopefully not...

Pein's Parting Words: I did not enjoy playing this game...I thought it would be a good experience to get away from my many pains, but they could not even let me alone on a secluded island. I do not care that I was voted out. Actually, good choice, contestants.

Who voted who:

Sasuke: Pein

Lee: Pein

Tenten: Shikamaru

Juugo: Pein

Shikamaru: Pein

Pein: Tenten

_Hope you enjoyed! Reviews would be total sweetness!_

_~Stay awesome_


	2. Sandaime is Miles Ahead

*Ancient Voices plays; names and short clips of the people with those names scroll by, with tribe names cutting in between*

SHODAI:

Naruto Uzumaki

Sakura Haruno

Kakashi Hatake

Maito Gai

Kushina Uzumaki

Karin

NIDAIME:

Sasuke Uchiha

Rock Lee

Tenten

Shikamaru Nara

Juugo

SANDAIME:

Itachi Uchiha

Deidara

Minato Namikaze

Neji Hyuga

Suigetsu Hozuki

Ino Yamanaka

_39 days. Three tribes. One survivor._

**Nidaime, Night 3:**

The tribe slowly walked back into camp, setting their torches down by the fire and all crawling back into the barely-stable shelter. Shikamaru had been thinking about the events of the night, and he realized that he needed a voting alliance to stay safe in this game.

_Shikamaru: "The reason that Pein got out was because he was lazy around camp, wasn't very good at challenges, and was a loner, having no alliances. Well, I'm all of the above, too! I can't really fix my laziness or my weaknesses, but I can fix the third one. I need to get myself an alliance and target Sasuke. He's bossy and arrogant."_

Just as everyone was beginning to settle down so they could try and sleep for the night, Shikamaru, staying as silent and hidden as possible, shimmied over to Lee and whispered a proposition for an alliance into his right ear. Lee was shocked, and all he said was, "I will…think it over."

_Lee: "I am not sure what I want to do at the moment…Sasuke said that he would keep Tenten and I safe, but Shikamaru, the absolute genius, just asked me for an alliance…I am torn. Sasuke came to me first, but Shikamaru is smarter…this game is much harder than I thought!"_

**Shodai, Day 4:**

Naruto was standing out in the murky waters, watching intently for the tiniest guppy to swim by so he could stab it with his wooden spear and cook it over the fire. Sakura was out in the woods, speaking with a certain individual about alliances.

"So, if you join up with me and Naruto, then I can confirm that you'll at least last to the Final Five," said Sakura, smiling warmly.

The person seemed to contemplate their options before replying, "Well, uh, how are you so sure? Couldn't this alliance be toppled as soon as we merge?"

"No, because then, we can gather up more allies. And then take THEM to the Final Five." Sakura held out her hand, that warm smile never disappearing from her face. The contestant looked at her hand hesitantly, before resigning to his fate with a sigh and shaking her hand.

"Well, we better be getting back to camp, Gai," suggested Sakura, leading him back to camp, where Naruto was greedily leaning over the fire as he held out his wooden spear, cooking the large trout he had caught on top of the fire. Kakashi was crouching at the other side of the fire, looking into it with his dark eyes twinkling with the orange sparks of the flame.

"When's the fish gonna be dooooone?" Naruto whined, grimacing as he turned the fish over yet again. He had been waiting over five minutes, and the fish was only halfway done.

"Just have patience, Naruto," moaned Kakashi, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes. "I swear, you can be so annoying sometimes…"

_Kakashi: "Sometimes I just can't take being around Naruto for large periods of time. He's easily distracted and has the attention span of a gnat. I think I just need to get away from him and soak in the secluded peace of the island."_

Kakashi sighed deeply as he sat down by the shoreline, soaking in the salty air. However, Naruto quickly came up and, in a loud fashion, began spearing and catching fish. An incredibly annoyed Kakashi got up and left, gritting his teeth.

_Kakashi: "WHY CAN'T HE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?"_

**Sandaime, Day 4:**

Suigetsu was lounging around camp, sipping some hot water. It wasn't very good, as it was ocean water that had been boiled to get rid of salt and germs, but he would take anything he could get. The only other options were wasting the precious main water supply, or drinking himself. Neither sounded appealing.

"Hey, Suigetsu!" cried Ino, walking up to the white-haired mist ninja. He grinned at her.

"How are you, Ino?" he asked, continuing to sip his water as Ino sat down beside him.

"Oh, I'm doing well," replied Ino, and the two began chatting and laughing, evidently having a good time with each other. Deidara, who was gathering fruit at the edge of the trees, watched from afar.

_Deidara: "Ino and Suigetsu are the two lazy ones around camp, not pulling their weight much. If we lose the next immunity and have to go to Tribal Council, it's obviously gonna be between them. I'd lean towards Ino. She practically refuses to drink boiled water."_

Deidara went and expressed these thoughts to Itachi and Minato. Minato nodded solemnly, agreeing. Itachi stayed quiet, crossing his arms and staring at his feet. He seemed deep in thought.

"Itachi? You okay?" Minato asked warily, looking a bit worried. Itachi paused, and then slowly nodded. Minato kept his eyes on him for a few more seconds, before he turned back to Deidara and continued conversing with him about who should go first, Ino or Suigetsu.

_Itachi: "Perhaps we should go for a different angle than what Deidara and Minato think. I mean, we could get rid of the threats early on and still survive. Just us three makes us a good tribe. Of course, that means the main threat to go for...is Neji."_

Itachi continued to stay quiet, though, not sure if he should come forth with his thoughts or not…

**Nidaime, Day 5:**

"Hello, everybody! We have got tree mail!" Lee cried, waving everyone over to where he was. "I think it is a reward challenge!"

Everybody rushed over to Lee and surrounded him at all sides, while Lee read the tree mail to them.

"The first reward is hard to attain,

Unless it's something you need to gain,

Now that I think, it probably is,

So try really hard, or else out you will fizz!"

"What? Out you will fizz?" Sasuke asked mockingly. Juugo grabbed the tribe flag and led Nidaime out of camp and to the challenge area. They were all alert and focused; they really wanted to redeem themselves and win this after the last challenge's failure…

**Reward Challenge, Day 5:**

"Come on in, tribes!" shouted Iruka, waving them into the challenge area as they all stood on their respective colored mats, Gai, Juugo, and Itachi holding the tribe flags like usual. They all looked over at what was assembled out in the middle of the water; a wooden wrestling stage without ropes to herd the wrestlers in.

"So…you all been doing good lately?" Everybody nodded begrudgingly. "All right…well, Shodai and Sandaime. As you can see, Pein was the first one voted out at the last tribal council." Nobody seemed very surprised, although Deidara and Itachi did raise their eyebrows.

"Well, now that that's over with, on to today's reward challenge," said Iruka, putting his left hand on a covered table beside him. "The teams will be competing in a wrestling challenge out on the water. If you fall in the water, you're out, and you can't go back on the platform. You will go out in trios, and the last one standing, or the last one to go in the water, gets a point for their tribe. The first tribe to three points wins reward. Wanna know what this reward is?"

Everyone cheered loudly, indicating that they, in fact, did want to know. Iruka grinned at them and pulled the cloth aside, revealing a huge blue tarp. Everyone looked eager to get it.

"A tarp," Iruka pointed out. "This will be great help to your shelter, won't it?" Everybody nodded in agreement. "All right, then. Both Shodai and Sandaime will have to sit somebody out." After consulting, Shodai sat out Karin, and Sandaime sat out Suigetsu.

"All right! Pick the first three to head out!" Starting off, Gai, Sasuke, and Minato all swam out to the platform, and then swiftly climbed onto it.

"Survivors ready…GO!"

They quickly rushed at each other, engaging in a heated struggle between all three. Their teammates watched intently, wincing when their teammate got hit and smirking when their teammate got a good hit in. Ultimately, Sasuke was forced into the water first, turning things into a calculated one-on-one match between Gai and Minato.

The two stood stiffly at separate sides of the platform, staring at each other. Suddenly, just as Minato prepared for a sudden strike, Gai leaped towards him, kicking him in the face and taking them both down into the water. Of course, since he was the attacker, Gai got the point, going into the water before Minato.

"Shodai gets a point!" Iruka announced, as the three all swam back to shore. "Tribes, send your next three up!"

Now it was Sakura, Lee, and Itachi. They all got up to the platform, and both Sakura and Itachi ran towards Lee once they were directed to begin. Lee, helpless to try and fight Sakura, let himself be thrown off the platform (Sasuke growled upon seeing Lee not even try). Itachi immediately pushed Sakura down into the drench, making this round much quicker than the previous one.

"Sandaime gets a point!" yelled Iruka, and Sasuke crossed his arms and looked at his feet, steaming. No points yet.

The next three up were Kushina, Tenten, and Ino. Though it was close between Kushina and Tenten, with Ino instantly losing out, Tenten managed to get Nidaime's first point. All tied at one. There might need to be a tiebreaker.

Next up were Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Deidara. Kakashi and Deidara remembered each other from long ago, when Naruto was enraged at Deidara and chased him through the forest. They swiftly began attacking each other, pulling out skillful punches and kicks to damage each other. Shikamaru just sat on the floor, away to the side. He wished he had some popcorn and a pillow. This was pretty decent entertainment.

Eventually, they took each other down, stumbling off the platform. They looked back up and were shocked to see Shikamaru stand up and dust his pants off, while Iruka loudly declared that it was another point for Nidaime.

It was the final match. Naruto, Juugo, and Neji. Unfortunately, both of the other tribes had only saved fairly strong contestants for last, while the strongest for Nidaime was the last on the list. He swiftly grabbed Naruto and Neji by the necks and flipped them into the water, finishing the challenge.

"NIDAIME WINS REWARD!" screamed Iruka. Juugo leaped into the water and swam back to shore, cheering along with his teammates as Tenten eagerly snatched up the tarp. Naruto and Neji looked disappointed with themselves as they came back to their respective tribes and re-assembled with them.

"Shodai, Sandaime, I've got nothing for you," said Iruka glumly. "You guys can head back to camp. I'll see you all here tomorrow for immunity."

The three tribes headed back to their respective camps, as Iruka looked on with a small smile.

**Shodai, Day 5:**

_Sakura: "Today was an absolute embarrassment. Gai was the only one from our team who managed to score a point. Naruto didn't even put up a fight against Juugo, no matter how strong he is. Kushina also lost to Tenten, even though she's more highly trained than her…then there's Kakashi, who totally forgot about Shikamaru. I don't like pointing fingers, but there's plenty of people to blame."_

Karin was sitting by the warm fire, cackling insanely at everybody.

"Oh, WOW! You guys are such LOSERS!" exclaimed Karin, holding her stomach as she keeled over in maniacal laughter. "If I had been in that challenge, I would have scored us a point! Gwa haaaa!"

Naruto eyed her evilly, as did everybody around but Gai, who was humming a happy song as he looked up at the clouds.

_Naruto: "Gai wasn't bothered by Karin because he got a point for us, but the rest of us were. How can she call us losers? She immediately suggested that we sit her out because she "couldn't do it!" What a hypocrite! I'd like to see her go next!"_

Naruto immediately stormed up to Sakura and spouted all of this off to her. However, Sakura wasn't very sure.

_Sakura: "Karin is annoying, but she didn't necessarily hurt us in the challenge…I don't think we should vote her out if we have to go to Tribal."_

**Sandaime, Day 5:**

Ino and Suigetsu were lazing around and talking again, sitting together by the fire. Deidara watched them while gathering fruit with his alliance with a twitching vein in his forehead, his face mashed against his fist. He was tired of the duo's lack of work ethic.

"Do you guys SEE them?" Deidara whispered to Itachi and Minato, sounding urgent. "I mean, just LOOK at them! Look! They NEVER do any work! They just sit around and talk to each other! All. The. TIME!"

Itachi and Minato both looked unsure this time, unsettled by Deidara's anger.

_Minato: "Deidara needs to calm down. Suigetsu and Ino are pretty lazy, but they do a little work sometimes. He's acting like they committed a capital crime or something."_

_Itachi: "Maybe I should chalk Deidara up on that list after Neji. He's overreacting about Suigetsu and Ino way too much. He needs a few anger management classes. I suppose the wild just makes him a little loopier than normal…?"_

Neji, who was drinking some cold water, walked up to Suigetsu and Ino and sat down beside them, joining the conversation. Deidara's jaw dropped from shock.

"I…I TOLD Neji to finish the last part of the roof, on the shelter!" Deidara said in disbelief, doing his best to keep his voice low so only Itachi and Minato could hear. "I mean, really! He's just as lazy as they are, AND he's disobedient! He should go next!"

Minato and Itachi just shook their heads and walked off, leaving Deidara to his ramblings.

**Nidaime, Night 5:**

The five remaining Nidaime members were sitting around the campfire, eating the last bits of their dinner before they went to sleep. They all looked solemn and prepared, not at all wanting to lose the next immunity after their loss last time.

"I think I am done," said Lee, leaving about fifteen grains of rice left in his makeshift bowl as he got up and walked over to the shelter. However, a disgruntled Sasuke tripped him, making him land face-first in the grass.

"Listen, bub," mumbled Sasuke, his voice difficult to discern due to the rice in his mouth. "You're eating every single bit of dinner. We need all the energy we can for tomorrow's challenge."

Lee sighed, getting up and dusting his pants off. Tenten looked at Sasuke warily as Lee leaned down and shoveled the last few rice grains into his gullet before running back to the shelter, uninterrupted this time.

_Tenten: "I'm sorry, but Sasuke seems like a real jerk to me. First off, he's super arrogant and he wants to be the alpha male around camp. Second, he acts so rude and mean to everybody! I know he promised to keep me and Lee safe, but I'm making a campaign for him to get voted out. He needs to go."_

Within the next two minutes, everybody finished and laid down to go to sleep in the shelter, as it rained outside and abolished their healthy fire. However, they were content that they had at least finished the shelter and made a sturdy roof, preventing any rain from getting through to them…

**Nidaime, Day 6:**

Shikamaru actually woke up early for once at the Nidaime camp. He gave a disappointed look at the lack of a fire, and attempted to start one up again. After ten minutes, he just gave up, deciding it was pointless. Then, Lee came out of the shelter, stretching and yawning. Seeing a prime opportunity, Shikamaru went up to Lee about his proposition again.

"So, what do you think about an alliance?" Shikamaru asked curiously, putting his hand to his chin. Lee hesitated, putting off his response for as long as possible. After four minutes of silence, Shikamru frowned and spoke up again.

"Seriously," began Shikamaru, "it's not like there's only you. I'll go to your friend Tenten or Juugo next. Do you really want some decent protection? I'm gunning for Sasuke."

"Well..." said Lee, a frown etched across his face. "We would have to pull in Tenten to vote out Sasuke, because he is already in an alliance with Juugo." Shikamaru showed mild shock, but otherwise was unfazed.

"...Well, that figures," sighed Shikamaru, plopping himself down on the ground. "So, it's you, me, and Tenten. Do we have a deal? You know how smart I am."

Shikamaru held his hand out. Lee tentatively took hold of it and slowly shook it, cringing a little.

"All right. Now then, I'm going to sleep again." Shikamaru fell down to the ground, his head pulling up a little dust and spare grass. Lee walked away with many thoughts flying about through his head.

**Sandaime, Day 6:**

"It's here! The tree mail for immunity!" cried Deidara, as everybody crowded around him. They all stared at the message shown intently, reading over it.

"It's time for the immunity challenge, all

But to do it you'll need a lot of gall

It requires bravery and navigation

But you must win so not one tribemate will go back to their nation."

"The last line doesn't even make sense. Just thrown in to rhyme," complained Suigetsu. Itachi gave a resigned sigh and led the tribe out of their camp, heading for the challenge area.

**Challenge Area, Day 6:**

The tribes marched into the challenge area, with Gai, Juugo, and Itachi holding the flags high like before.

"Hey, guys," greeted Iruka, smiling at the tribes. "You doing good?"

Nods and head shakes were mixed in together from the 17 remaining contestants.

"All right, well, you signed up for this in the first place. Don't whine to me about it!" Iruka said cheerfully. Everybody laughed at the joke, as Iruka got back onto a more serious note. "In any case, time for today's immunity challenge. Behind me is an enormous cage maze suspended out over the water, with openings for each of you. You'll all have to navigate through the maze by yourselves, unless you manage to meet up with a tribemate. If you meet up with an opposing member of another tribe, you have to turn around and go in the other direction. The goal is to get all five of your competing tribe members onto your tribe boat and paddle back to shore; once you reach the exit to your boat, you can either jump into it or go back and find your tribemates, directing them to the exit. Got all that?" They all nodded. "Well, the first one back here in their boat with all their tribe members wins immunity, as does the second team back!"

They all cheered, and Iruka asked Shodai and Sandaime to sit a member out, and not the same one from the reward. Sandaime sat out Deidara, and Shodai sat out Naruto.

"All right, everybody line up at their entrances!" They all did so, awaiting the go-ahead. "Survivors ready...GO!"

They all leaped into their cages, clambering along and making the metal clatter and sound out beneath them. The pathways were square and divided, but frequently had confusing turns and baffling dead-ends. Shikamaru was conquering the maze with ease, figuring out its nooks and crannies very quickly, and Kakashi, Itachi, and Sasuke weren't having especially hard times. Karin was totally confused, very constantly running into dead-ends and getting frustrated.

Soon enough, Suigetsu and Juugo met on the same pathway. They both moaned in disappointment and turned around, heading the other way. However, Suigetsu quickly ran into a dead-end; he tugged at his hair in frustration, carefully going back the way he had met Juugo. Shikamaru had reached the blue Nidaime boat, and was just waiting for his teammates now (too lazy to go back and direct them to the end).

Kushina soon found the exit, and she excitedly went back and discovered Sakura, who has having slight trouble.

"Sakura! Sakura!" Kushina shouted, grinning widely. "I found the exit! Come on, let's get the others and get to it! I remember where it is exactly!"

Sakura smiled warmly in response and began leading the way across some winding corridors, excited at the possibility of coming in first in the challenge yet again. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Sasuke had just reached the exits to their boats, and Itachi and Ino were both getting close.

Just as Sakura and Kushina got to Karin and Gai they all turned to Kushina eagerly, waiting for her to lead them all to the exit. However, Kushina was looking out of the cage and down into the water with a worried look on her face.

"Hm? What's wrong, Kushina?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow. She gulped and laughed nervously.

"Er...well..." Kushina hesitated, wondering if she should really say this. "...I can't remember where the exit is from here."

"WHAT?" Karin screamed, a vehement expression on her face. "WEREN'T YOU KEEPING TRACK OF IT THIS WHOLE TIME?"

"I'm sorry! It just slipped my mind!" Kushina begged, holding up her hands and cringing as Karin loomed at her. Sakura sighed heavily and suggested that they try their best to find their way back.

"NO! I'm gonna lead us back, I clearly know more than Tomato Head here!" shouted Karin, mocking Kushina's long fiery-red hair. Kushina frowned, seeing as Karin had such a shade of long red hair herself.

Meanwhile, Itachi and Ino, having met up in the middle of the maze, had reached the exit together. Within two minutes, Suigetsu reached them and gave them a high five. Just waiting for Minato and Neji...who got over there in about four and a half minutes. They began rowing to shore.

"SANDAIME IS HEADING FOR SHORE!" screamed Iruka, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Nidaime only has Shikamaru...oh, Sasuke just reached the boat! Kakashi waiting for his teammates at Shodai's boat! Sandaime is MILES ahead! First place is practically locked in!"

And that it was. Sandaime reached shore quickly and all ran up to Iruka, claiming the top half of the immunity idol and cheering crazily. "SANDAIME WINS IMMUNITY!"

Kakashi and Naruto both groaned in disappointment as he watched Tenten clamber into Nidaime's boat and Sandaime lift the immunity idol high with their six pairs of hands. Where were their teammates?

At the moment, three of them were confusedly following Karin, who was guiding them through the maze with a smug facial expression.

"I know this is the right way! It's guaranteed!" shouted Karin, as the steel groaned beneath her knees as she crawled along. Gai looked unsure.

"Uh...I think these passages look familiar!" Gai exclaimed, sweating bullets. "You sure about this?"

"Of course I'm...!" Karin was cut off in mid-sentence and gaped as she felt fresh air. She had just crawled out of the grate and into...

...

...

...

...

...sand. She had led them back to the entrance.

"HUH?" Karin shrieked, unable to believe her mistake. Sakura looked steaming mad, Kushina was almost as steaming mad as Sakura, and Gai was simply dumbfounded. Naruto almost passed out when he saw his teammates back on the beach.

It didn't help that Lee had just reached Nidaime's boat, and they began paddling back to shore.

"COME ON! COME ON! WE CAN STILL MAKE IT!" insisted Karin, but Gai just grabbed her sadly by the shoulder and shook his head. They wouldn't be able to get halfway through the maze before Nidaime was hoisting half of the idol in the air triumphantly.

In about thirty seconds, Nidaime reached the beach and quickly ran over to Iruka and snatched up the bottom half of the immunity idol. They cheered even louder than Sandaime had as Iruka announced, "NIDAIME WINS IMMUNITY!"

Kakashi leaped into the water and swam to shore once he heard that. He dropped his jaw to the floor when he saw his teammates already back at the beach, sitting at one of the entrances to the maze.

"Sorry, Shodai, but I've got nothing for you. You can head back to camp." Iruka said sadly. "See you tonight at Tribal Council." All of the Shodai members groaned and stalked off back to camp.

**Shodai, Day 6:**

Naruto entered camp incredibly angry when he learned from Sakura that Karin was the cause of them being led back to the entrance.

_Naruto: "AND TO THINK KARIN CRITICIZED US FOR LOSING THE REWARD CHALLENGE! She's such a hypocrite! I'm definitely voting her out tonight! Me and Sakura can get my mom and Kakashi on our sides and get her out!"_

Meanwhile, Karin was talking to Kakashi, telling him a...modified version of what happened.

"Listen! Kushina reached the exit and then she went back to get us, right?" Karin asked rhetorically. Kakashi nodded slowly, not sure where this was headed. "Well, then she can't remember where the exit is, but she STILL tries to lead us on! Then think! SHE GETS US BACK TO THE ENTRANCE!" Kakashi widened his eye(s) in shock.

"Seriously?" Kakashi asked in disbelief. Kushina didn't seem like the type to do such a thing. Karin nodded grimly before moving on.

"We need to take her out tonight! You and me! She's a total burden to this tribe and we ought to let her go!" Kakashi nodded in agreement, looking a little confused. He shook hands with Karin before walking off.

_Kakashi: "Karin's story sounded a little fishy for some reason, but Kushina is more of a burden to us than her. We ought to get her out, despite the possibility of Karin lying about what really happened."_

Weaving her web of lies, Karin walked over to Gai, who was chewing some grapefruit. He looked up at her with a bit of a disgruntled look before looking at the ground and continuing to eat.

"Listen, Gai," sighed Karin, knowing this would be more difficult than convincing Kakashi, seeing as Gai knew what had really happened. "I know I screwed up today in the challenge, but...think about it. Isn't Kushina weaker than me? That was one mishap. Kushina's just weak all around. We need to get her out!"

Gai thought over her words for a moment before telling her he'd think it over. She smiled in delight, thanked him, and walked off to eat an early dinner before Tribal Council.

_Gai: "I've no clue what I'm going to do tonight! There are so many options that it's making my head hurt! Karin didn't do well in the immunity challenge, but Kushina is a surprisingly weak tribemate...ARRRGGGHHH! I KEEP GETTING CONFUSED!"_

Meanwhile, Naruto, Sakura, and Kushina were talking in the forest.

"So, definitely Karin tonight, right?" Naruto asked, grinning in a slightly devilish way. Sakura and Kushina both nodded, and so Naruto got up and walked away. Kushina followed him back to camp, but Sakura stayed behind in the forest, looking tentative.

_Sakura: "Karin has been spreading lies to Kakashi, as I've heard, and...she's partly right. Kushina is the weak link, not Karin, even though Karin royally screwed us over in the immunity challenge. But...now that I think about it, so did Kushina. Do Is tick with my alliance, or vote Kushina...?"_

**Tribal Council, Night 6:**

The six Shodai tribe members walked into Tribal Council, looking over at Iruka as she sat by the fire, smiling as sparks jumped by his face and barely missed.

"Welcome to Tribal Council, Shodai tribe," said Iruka, gesturing to the torches hanging on the wall. "All of you, grab a torch and light it. Fire represents life in this game. When your fire goes out, you are forced to leave."

Everyone did as Iruka instructed, grabbing a torch and dipping it into the fire, lighting the tip with a strong blaze. Then they all took their seats on the stumps and Iruka started shooting off questions.

"So, Naruto. Do you feel anyone in specific can be blamed for the loss today?" Iruka probed.

"Yeah, definitely," mumbled Naruto, staring daggers at Karin. Karin twitched a little, catching his stare, but she ignored him.

"Heh...interesting news," chuckled Iruka, before he turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, is it a hard decision on who to vote for tonight?"

Kakashi thought the question over a bit before shrugging and shaking his head. "No, I don't think so."

"All right. Well, it's time to vote," said Iruka. "Karin, you're first."

Karin went to vote.

_Karin: Kushina: Ha ha! Take that, you! You were truly the one that ruined us in that challenge, not me! I only made a teeny mishap after we were already lost!_

Kushina went to vote.

Kakashi went to vote.

Gai went to vote.

_Gai: ?: *frowns* ...I'm sorry._

Naruto went to vote.

_Naruto: Karin: This isn't just for being a failure in the challenge, it's for lying about my mom, too! You total loser!_

Sakura went to vote.

_Sakura: ?: ..._

Iruka went to get the voting urn, and returned with it. "Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

"First vote, Karin." Karin grimaced, even though she was expecting that.

"Karin."

"Kushina."

"Kushina. Tied up, two for two." Kushina and Karin both looked very worried, though Kushina less so.

"Karin."

...

...

...

...

"Second person voted out of Survivor: Kumo Island...Karin. Sorry, but you need to bring me your torch."

Karin just shook her head with a frown, looking hatefully over at Gai. He shrugged, not seeming to care if she thought ill of him. Karin grabbed her torch and then approached Iruka.

"Karin, the tribe has spoken." Iruka snuffed Karin's torch. She waved curtly at everyone before taking the long walk to the boat leaving the island, her figure proceeding into the dark night.

"Looks like this tribe is also concerned with voting out their weak links, or the ones who bring them down, early in the game. Grab your torches, good night."

Everyone did so, contemplating many separate things as they walked off, letting the fire of their torches guide them...

_Who voted who:_

_Naruto: Karin_

_Sakura: Karin_

_Kakashi: Kushina_

_Gai: Karin_

_Kushina: Karin_

_Karin: Kushina_

Karin's final words: "Feh, this tribe is a bunch of idiots. How dare they vote me out over Kushina? I mean, she was the weakest! I just made one little mistake! I could have done a lot more! Oh, whatever...I'm done with this stinkin' game...I just came to see Sasuke shirtless. *cuddles photo of Sasuke*"

_Did you like it? It took a while, but I did the best I could. Reviews would be swell! Leave them, pl0x!_

_~Stay awesome  
_


	3. It's Gotta be Him

*Ancient Voices plays; names and short clips of the people with those names scroll by, with tribe names cutting in between*

SHODAI:

Naruto Uzumaki

Sakura Haruno

Kakashi Hatake

Maito Gai

Kushina Uzumaki

NIDAIME:

Sasuke Uchiha

Rock Lee

Tenten

Shikamaru Nara

Juugo

SANDAIME:

Itachi Uchiha

Deidara

Minato Namikaze

Neji Hyuga

Suigetsu Hozuki

Ino Yamanaka

_39 days. Three tribes. One survivor._

**Shodai, Night 6:**

The Shodai members marched back into camp, laying their alight torches over by the fire pit. Sakura moaned and rubbed her temples as she laid down in the shelter, making no haste in relaxing and trying to get a good night's rest.

_Sakura: "I totally blanked out earlier today in telling Gai about the plan to vote out Karin, simply because I thought it was a given. Luckily he still voted with us. It would have been a total disaster if things had ended up in a tie."_

Meanwhile, Kushina couldn't get to sleep. She was up almost the whole night, worrying about the Tribal Council.

_Kushina: "I got two votes in that last Tribal Council. I know one was from Karin, but who else voted for me? Am I being gunned for in this tribe? I doubt Naruto will abandon me, but what if Sakura turns on us and triple teams me with Gai and Kakashi? Oh dear…I'm in trouble."_

**Nidaime, Day 7:**

Shikamaru was meeting up with Lee and Tenten in the forest, a tired look on his face. He rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"All right, so if we end up losing the immunity challenge, it's a pretty basic plan. We just vote Sasuke out," said Shikamaru, surveying both their faces. They both nodded and reassured him that they were in.

"So…anything else?" Tenten asked, rather curious.

"…No," said Shikamaru simply, randomly dropping on his back and beginning to snooze. As Lee and Tenten walked away, he was secretly thinking over his true plan.

_Tenten: "I dunno, I was expecting a little more from Shikamaru then that. He's got, like, an IQ of 200. Can't he come up with something a teensy bit more intricate then, "Let's vote Sasuke"?_

_Shikamaru: "If we really do lose, I'll just go to Sasuke and Juugo and tell them we should team up and vote Tenten together. I know for a fact that Lee looked unsure when he shook my hand. Me and Tenten will for sure vote Sasuke, and if Lee figures out I told Sasuke and Juugo we'd vote Tenten together, what can he do? Vote Sasuke with me. I'll have to modify it if things take an unexpected turn, but that's the main plan."_

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Juugo were in the shelter, chowing down on grapefruits from the sizeable supply they had gathered to build up their energy. Lee entered and Sasuke quickly waved him over to them. Lee sat down beside the dark-haired Uchiha.

"All right, obviously we're voting out Shikamaru if we lose again; which is likely," whispered Sasuke, leaning in close to speak with his allies as he eyed Shikamaru, who scratched his back as he walked into camp from the forest. "Tenten is to be kept safe, so he needs to go."

Lee gulped and nodded before leaving the shelter to take a jog around the beach and think.

_Lee: "Argh, it is just so hard! Shikamaru or Sasuke, Shikamaru or Sasuke…I can barely even take it anymore! *grips hair and cringes*"_

**Shodai, Day 7:**

Sakura was eating with Kakashi and Kushina when she began looking at Kushina rubbing her ankle. She had sprained it during a nature hike through the woods with the whole tribe, led by Gai. Due to this, Sakura started having second thoughts about the vote last night.

_Sakura: "I think it may have been a fatal mistake to this tribe to vote out Karin. Kushina really is the weak link among us; she's fiery, but she's fragile and physically weak. I think it was definitely a more sensible decision to vote Kushina out…but hey, can I change the past? No. Besides, Naruto would never vote his mom out, and I do feel for him and all."_

Kakashi was looking sour about the Tribal last night as well, pushing his rice and bits of fruit along with his chopsticks, whittled simplistically out of two small sticks.

_Kakashi: "I don't think last night was a mistake; I KNOW last night was a mistake. It's obvious that Kushina is just the weakest member of the tribe. That ankle sprain today only further proves to me that she has difficulty keeping up. I like the woman, but she should have gone before and she has to go now."_

Kushina soon finished her meal, slowly got up, and walked away gloomily. Sakura and Kakashi looked at her back curiously as she kicked up sand and sat down by the water, on the beach. Naruto noticed her from down the beach and ran up to her, grinning.

"Hey, mom!" shouted Naruto, waving at her. She didn't respond.

Naruto raised his eyebrow and crouched down, openly waving a hand right in front of her face. "Mom?" No answer, again.

Naruto did a sort of half-pout, stood to full height, and shook her roughly by the shoulder. She looked up at him sadly, and he saw the worry etched on her face.

"Anything wrong?" he questioned, placing his hand back on her shoulder gently.

She sighed softly and looked up at her son. "I'm going next, Naruto. Now that my ankle's gotten sprained, it's clear that I'm just the weakest on the tribe. If we lose the next immunity, it's so obvious I'm going it's just depressing…"

"Hey! Don't talk like that!" shouted Naruto, gritting his teeth at her. She was a little shocked, and she blinked in confusion. Naruto just shook his head in anger before giving his mother a hardened glare.

"Listen! I promised to keep you safe!" exclaimed Naruto, looking fiery as he ranted to his mother. "I know we'll be able to get all the way to the merge and meet up with Dad. I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!"

Kushina looked surprised, but she smiled warmly at her son within a few seconds, and then she jumped up and hugged him. He returned the hug, hiding a look of worry himself. He wasn't totally sure that he could convince all his allies to keep his mother, but he definitely wasn't voting her out.

_Naruto: "My mom's gonna have to return to the world of the dead after this competition. So, I have to keep her here as long as possible, just so I can spend time with her. My ultimate goal is for her, me, and Dad to be the final three. That would be so awesome!"_

Naruto gruffly walked over to Sakura, and he told her they needed to talk. She sighed and went out into the woods with him.

"My mom doesn't go," ordered Naruto, with a cross facial expression. "And that's final."

Sakura sighed, hanging her down and shaking it. Naruto may be her friend, but he was too sentimental for a game like this. If you really wanted the money, you'd cut your ties and go on, as Sakura thought. Naruto didn't seem to even understand the game like Sakura did.

"Naruto…" Sakura moaned, clenching her forehead. "I know you want your mom to stay around for a while, but…"

"My. Mom. Stays," growled Naruto. And that was that, evidently, as he stalked back off to camp without saying another word. Sakura looked after him and gulped with difficulty, due to the lump currently in her throat. How in the world would she get out of this one?

**Sandaime, Day 7:**

This was it. Deidara was sick and tired of the way he tried to tell Suigetsu and Ino to do something and they'd either totally ignore him or only do it halfway, then take a "break" and never get the job done properly.

"HEY! YOU LAZY SLUGS!" screamed Deidara, stomping up to them with narrowed eyes. They looked up at him curiously, raising their eyebrows at him. Deidara took their water cups and poured them right on the sand. Ino, appalled, got up and slapped Deidara, right across the face.

"What's wrong with you?" shrieked Ino, heaving and breathing angrily. Deidara got up ominously, directing a death glare at Ino. He grinded his teeth upon each other, bubbling with rage.

"YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING!" screeched Deidara, standing his ground against the fiery blonde, seeing as he was a fiery blonde himself. "YOU JUST SIT AROUND AND TALK TO YOUR FREAKO BOYFRIEND! AT LEAST TRY AND DO SOME WORK, YOU LAZY BIMBO!"

As Ino and Deidara continued to bicker in a very loud fashion, Suigetsu just rolled his eyes and crawled away, spotting Neji nearby. He went and sat by him, asking for a sip of his water and receiving that sip.

"They're crazy," muttered Neji. "They're flipping crazy." Suigetsu shrugged in answering.

_Neji: "I'm starting to be unable to handle it around here. I'm trying to stay in the background and be quiet, but I almost want to quit now. These people are a lot more volatile than I thought we would be. As ninjas, we spend a lot of time surviving and camping, but the atmosphere of the game seems to drive people nuts. At least I still have a head on my shoulders at this point…"_

_Suigetsu: "I think this is more Deidara being a jerkoff than anything. I'm easy-going about it, not making a big deal. They'll settle down before long."_

Itachi and Minato watched from the forest with dull looks on their faces. However, there was a mix of disappointment within their faces as well.

_Itachi: "Deidara's just asking crazy right now. I almost want to vote him out before anyone else if we have to go to Tribal. I like being loyal to my allies, but, come on. There's a cut-off point when they begin to act like jerks."_

_Minato: "I think Deidara's not well or something like that. The wild is getting to him, it's obvious. I hope he's okay…he seems almost unstable at the moment, having this immature shouting match with Ino."_

**Sandaime, Day 8:**

"Tree mail, as usual!" announced Ino, waving her tribemates over to her as she read the cryptic message.

"Choose a good leader if you want the reward,

and I dearly hope you pick right.

They must have leadership skills like a chairman of the board,

in order to lead you to light."

There were typical scattered grumbles about the poor quality of the poem as brief discussions began about who should lead. Though one or two people were angered at the choice, they kept their thoughts to themselves as Itachi took his usual hold of the tribal flag and the Sandaime tribe walked off to the challenge area.

**Challenge Area, Day 8:**

The tribes marched into the challenge area, all looking solemnly towards Iruka as he smiled at them, his hands behind his back.

"Welcome back, guys," he said cheerily. They all nodded at him and he directed everyone's attention to the Shodai tribe.

"Take a look at the new Shodai tribe. Karin voted out last Tribal Council," said Iruka. Nobody was especially surprised or caught off-guard, though Suigetsu chuckled a little.

"So, you all ready for today's reward challenge?" he asked. They all eagerly said, "Yes," in agreement.

"All right," began Iruka. "In your tree mail, you'll notice that I asked you to select a leader; note that this person cannot be sitting out, in Sandaime's case. Will these chosen leaders step forward?"

Kakashi, Lee, and Minato all stepped forward silently.

Iruka smiled before saying, "Today, these leaders will be shouting orders to you while you are blindfolded, leading you through a secluded area down the beach. There are separate puzzle bags in the sand, and two members will be there, looking for your colored puzzle bags (green for Shodai, blue for Nidaime, red for Sandaime). Once the leaders direct them to all four puzzle bags, the two other participating members will assemble the puzzle from within the bags. First tribe to finish their puzzle wins reward!

"Wanna know what you're playing for?" Of course, everybody nodded. Iruka stepped aside to reveal a mini-fridge; he opened it, and they all saw it was full of steaks, chicken, hot dogs, and various other fulfilling items of meat, along with a few sodas and sports drinks. Every single guy in the competition drooled over the reward; even a few of the girls clearly desired this protein-packed smorgasbord.

"A collection of meat and drinks," said Iruka with a grin. "Worth playing for?" Nearly everyone shouted, "YEAH!" in answering.

"All right, let's begin!" shouted Iruka, running down the beach and letting the tribes follow him.

Shodai: Naruto and Gai finding puzzle bags, Sakura and Kushina solving puzzle.

Nidaime: Juugo and Tenten finding puzzle bags, Sasuke and Shikamaru solving puzzle.

Sandaime: Ino and Deidara finding puzzle bags, Itachi and Suigetsu solving puzzle. (Neji sitting out.)

"Survivors ready…?" announced Iruka, holding his hand up. "…GO!"

Orders began to be barked out, with everyone doing things differently. Kakashi was taking a forceful approach, Lee was being gentle and easy-going, and Minato was staying calm, but focused and direct.

"Naruto! Right over there, next to your foot! RIGHT FOOT, RIGHT FOOT!" screamed Kakashi, waiting on edge as Naruto flipped around and triumphantly grabbed a bag. "Yes, yes, that's right! Gai, you're about to bump into Ino, turn around…oh, wait, I think one's near you! Left, left!"

"Erm…Tenten, be careful, I think the bag is right there, about four feet away, upper left…" said Lee softly, being somewhat drowned out by Kakashi's loud, commanding voice. "Yes, uh, that's right! Just pick it up, and…" He cringed as Kakashi continued to drown him out, leading Gai to yet another bag.

"All right, Ino, four-o'-clock!" Minato ordered, pointing to where the bag was despite Ino being unable to see him. "Now, now, just go forward…seven-o'-clock! Exactly right! Now, Deidara, you're fairly close to one, hold on…"

In about two minutes, Shodai had all their bags, Sandaime had three, and Nidaime had two, though they were on the verge of getting a third.

"Um…right there, right there!" shouted Lee, pointing to a spot.

"Where?" Tenten asked incredulously, grinding her teeth together.

"Right, uh, right under you!" exclaimed Lee, looking a little flushed.

"…How about I just lean down, feel for some fabric, and pick up the freakin' bag?" Tenten suggested, on the verge of yelling at this point. Lee sheepishly agreed, and they got their third bag.

Sandaime was having difficulty with the fourth, because Deidara just wasn't following Minato's orders correctly. He couldn't understand what the degrees meant.

"Nine-o'-clock, Deidara! Nine-o'-clock!" Minato shouted frantically, gripping his hair tightly. His tribemate was making him lose his cool.

"What the heck does that even MEAN?" Deidara asked vehemently, whirling around in all directions. "I have no idea what these clocks and numbers are supposed to tell me! I don't need the time, I need directions!"

"AAAAGGGHHH!" screamed Minato, leaning far back in his chair and burying his face in his hands. "RIGHT! RIGHT A FAIR WAYS OVER!"

Lee was having trouble leading Juugo as well, due to his mild-mannered nature. Before long, Minato managed to get Deidara to the last puzzle bag, while Sakura and Kushina were having serious trouble with the puzzle.

"So…do you think it fits like this, y'know, as if you slide it in?" Kushina asked in wonder, holding two pieces together awkwardly and tilting her head at how they shaped together. "These kinds of challenges are tough…"

"I agree," sighed Sakura, having a couple pieces assembled with Kushina's help and now trying to fit about three pieces together in a formation. She though they fit right by turning them several ways, but they never went together.

Now, Itachi and Suigetsu began work on the puzzle, having a considerably easier time with it than Sakura and Kushina but not exactly having a breeze, either. Suigetsu got irked at the shape of several different pieces and how they didn't fit correctly, while Itachi was trying to slide together two large pieces in so many different formations it made the heads of those watching spin.

Sakura and Kushina managed to get some progress in and have some pieces fit together, while Itachi and Suigetsu still struggled with a certain few pieces. During this time, Lee finally managed to lead Juugo to the final puzzle bag, and Shikamaru and Sasuke instantly got to work.

They dumped the pieces onto the ground, and Shikamaru suddenly held Sasuke back from beginning work, crouching down and staring at the puzzle pieces. Sasuke stared at him, raising an eyebrow. Was he trying to solve it just by looking at it?

That he was. After about ten more seconds, he instantly picked up about five pieces and slid them around so that they fit in a large formation. Sasuke's jaw dropped woodenly. Shikamaru worked swiftly and expertly, while Itachi and Suigetsu finally got their few pieces to work and moved on. Sakura and Kushina were doing things frantically once they spotted Shikamaru's quick work, screaming and whining when the pieces weren't right. Shikamaru continued doing things at a breezy pace, looking nonchalant.

Soon, Shikamaru jumped up and shouted to Iruka that he was done. Iruka ran over and looked at the puzzle, while the other tribes waited tentatively. After inspecting for a mere five seconds, Iruka shouted, "NIDAIME WINS REWARD!"

Nidaime screamed and cheered like a pack of insane orangutans, jumping up and down as Juugo excitedly took hold of the meat-packed mini-fridge. Naruto threw his blindfold to the ground in frustration, shaking a little in anger. Kakashi just shook his head disappointedly, and the entirety of Sandaime looked like they were ready to kill to steal away all that meat. They managed to restrain themselves, though it was tough for Deidara and Itachi.

"Well, while Nidaime can dine on their meat, Shodai, Sandaime, I got nothing for you," Iruka said sadly. The tribes sighed and nodded in response, and they headed back to their camps per Iruka's orders.

**Shodai, Day 8:**

Naruto looked over at Sakura and Kushina warily as they sat in the shelter, talking quietly. He was trying his best not to stay mad, but it was hard to when his diet was made up of rice, grapefruits, and boiled ocean water.

_Naruto: "M...meat…I wanted some so badly…oh so badlyyyyy…AND MOM AND SAKURA SCREWED IT UP! *snarls and rages*"_

Kakashi could tell Naruto was a little unstable about the loss as he sulked on the beach, just as sad about the lack of steaks in his mouth, their delicious smell filling his nostrils.

_Kakashi: "…I have no comment about our failure at the reward challenge. None."_

Sakura and Kushina, meanwhile, were discussing the loss as well, clearly disappointed in themselves for being so slow at the puzzle.

"Y'know, it is mostly our fault that we lost," sighed Sakura, toying with her hair and sitting cross-legged. "If we had been smarter and faster in handling the puzzle, Nidaime would have never caught up, and Shikamaru would have never dominated the puzzle."

"I know, I know, don't remind me," moaned Kushina, lying down on her back and staring up at the crudely constructed ceiling. "But, come on…that puzzle was hard. And once Genius Boy caught up to us, you know there was no way we could beat him. His IQ is, like, 200, as Naruto tells me…"

Sakura just shook her head and stayed silent, trying not to think about the challenge.

_Sakura: "I won't mince words; that was an epic failure at the challenge today. Usually rewards won't be held over you, but the other three seem really shaken up about it. I don't expect my alliance to turn on me, but Kushina was trying more than me. I'm just barely more at fault."_

**Sandaime, Day 8:**

Nobody was talking about the reward. Actually, everyone was taking Sakura's unspoken advice, and trying not to think about it.

_Itachi: "I have to admit, I'm pretty burned up about how we screwed up today. Me, Suigetsu, and Deidara are equally at fault. But, there's no use pointing fingers and taking blame for a reward challenge, no matter how good the reward was. I'm just taking it in stride."_

Neji, coming out of his usual silent shell, did something totally unexpected, and approached Suigetsu and Ino as they sat around the fire again.

"Hm? What do you want, Neji?" Ino asked curiously, looking up at him with a gleam in her eye. Neji looked solemn, crouching down and speaking with the duo.

_Suigetsu: "So…Neji came up to me and Ino, and he asked for an alliance. I'm kinda surprised. I was sorta thinking I would just freewheel around for a while, but an offer like this, easy to take, doesn't come all that often in this game. We told him we'd think about it, and I'm leaning towards taking him up on that offer at the moment."_

Neji then went over to Itachi and Minato, having figured out they were in an alliance with Deidara. He continued weaving his magic, pretending as if he didn't know this info.

"So," began Neji. "I was thinking."

"Thinking about what?" asked Minato, sitting on a tree branch next to Itachi, just lazing about and resting up for a bit.

"Well, you know how Suigetsu and Ino don't get any work done?" Neji asked, pulling himself up to the branch and sitting next to them. "I'm not as crazy as Deidara about it, but it is pretty annoying. I suggest we band together and vote them out. Sound good?" Neji put out his hand.

Minato looked at it with a skeptical expression before shaking it quickly and smiling at Neji. Itachi did the same, minus the smile.

Neji grinned wispily to himself as he ran off, going to deliberate his options in the woods.

_Neji: "I'm Hantzing these people like nobody's business. If I can cover my tracks right, I can play them all easily, get to the end, and STILL look like the unassuming quiet guy that stuck around and pulled his weight. I love it! My master plan is already in effect!"_

**Nidaime, Night 8:**

"WHA WHA WHAT!" screeched Lee, dancing insanely. The rest of the tribe laughed as he beatboxed and jumped around like a fool.

_Tenten: "We had a party tonight to enjoy the reward and celebrate the fact that we managed to win it. Well, Lee was basically the life of the party. He made everybody smile. Plus he's great at challenges, so he has good chances of surviving for a while."_

Shikamaru smirked and stayed away to the side as even the quiet Juugo got into the festivities. He was conserving his energy for the morning rather than dancing.

_Shikamaru: "The party looked fun and all, but we need to keep our strength reserved to ourselves. This isn't a dance-off, this is a game. They need to stop fooling around and get their heads back in the competition, but then again, that's just my opinion."_

**Challenge Area, Day 9:**

The tribes walked into the challenge area like usual, looking over at Iruka, who was holding a rubber ball and smiling with a malicious glint in his eyes.

"Hey, guys," said Iruka. They all greeted him back in response. "Want to know what the immunity challenge is today?" They all nodded.

"Well, it's pretty simple, really," stated Iruka, juggling the ball slowly as the idol sat at his feet. "Hot potato. The first tribe with all their members eliminated…does not win immunity. NOW GO!"

Sakura was startled by the sudden beginning as Iruka flung the ball to her, and she swiftly threw it over to Sasuke. He passed it to Minato with a bored expression on his face, who very quickly threw it to Naruto. Naruto threw it to Shikamaru, who-

"TIME!" shouted Iruka. "Shikamaru is out!" Shikamaru shrugged, throwing the ball back to Iruka and walking off to the side.

The game continued to move just as quickly, and in due time, Naruto, Suigetsu, Tenten, Kushina, and Itachi were all eliminated. It came down to only ten, who were passing at lightning speed and not ready to give up any time soon.

"Heh, your arms getting tired?" Deidara asked Sakura, flinging the ball to her.

She chuckled at him in a mocking way, passing it to Minato huffily. "No way, Jose! My arms could go on all day!"

"Hey, that rhymes!" Lee shouted cheesily, grinning. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he passed it to Gai, who passed it back. They ended up in a passing battle of sorts until Iruka called time, and Sasuke was out. He punched Gai in the arm as he stalked off.

"Ow," mumbled Gai, frowning and rubbing his arm.

The passing continued, eventually getting Deidara and Sakura out, coincidentally. It had boiled down to Gai, Kakashi, Lee, Juugo, Minato, Ino, and Neji…who was gotten out next.

"It's coming down to the wire! There's two contestants left from each tribe!" yelled Iruka, watching the action intently. Lee, Kakashi, and Minato were the three fastest, seamlessly keeping the ball in motion with extra-fast passing. The other three were having trouble keeping up, struggling to throw the ball fast enough to stay in. Unfortunately, the next one out was…

"OH! Too bad for you, Gai!" Gai grumbled something obscene as he walked off to the side with all other eliminated participants. Being the only one left for Shodai, Kakashi felt fairly vulnerable.

Juugo, being the slowest one left, was the next to go, with Ino quickly following. Of course, this kept it trimmed down to the three fastest. The rubber ball was a blur as it passed from competitor to competitor, none of them wanting to lose it for their tribe. Unfortunately, one suffered from a rare stint of distraction. That one was…

…

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"NIDAIME AND SANDAIME WIN IMMUNITY!" shrieked Iruka, as Kakashi was distracted by a passing crab and let the ball stay in his possession for too long. He moaned and flung the ball down to the ground, as Naruto turned away and shook his head at two lost immunities in a row.

"Shodai, unfortunately, all I can say to you is that I'll see you tonight, at Tribal Council," said Iruka glumly. "Until then."

The Shodai tribe nodded at him and walked back to camp, all looking disappointed and tired. This was not good for their well-being in this game.

**Shodai, Day 9:**

Naruto already had his mind made up about tonight's vote as he trotted back into camp.

_Naruto: "It's Kakashi tonight, guaranteed. He's on the outside in alliances, and he screwed us up in the challenge. It's gotta be him."_

Sakura was having different thoughts, mulling around the warm fire with Kakashi as she nibbled unenthusiastically on some rice, The outcome tonight looked grim no matter what.

_Sakura: "I know Naruto will refuse to vote his mom out again, like he told me the other day…but, I'm way less sure about voting with him this time. Kakashi definitely was one of the main reasons we lost immunity, but he's still one of the tribe's strongest players…he's very fast and pretty strong. It makes a lot more sense to oust Kushina…urrrgghh!"_

Kakashi felt uptight. He was the main outsider, and his screw-up in the challenge was definitely noticed by all his tribemates.

_Kakashi: "I fear there's no way out for me tonight. I'll go down kicking for sure, but I'm pretty certain that Naruto and Sakura have set me in their sights. This may be the end for the Man with the Thousand Jutsu…"_

Gai was looking around in a bored way before tribal council, making sure no one was looking before he crouched in front of a tree and…er…relieved himself.

_Gai: "Well, after that healthy dump *cameraman gags*, Naruto came up to me and told me the vote tonight was on Kakashi. Well, I'm not too sure about that! Kakashi's got skills, and I'd like to keep our rivalry up a little longer…I'm not sure about this move. What are Naruto and Sakura thinking?"_

Kushina just sighed as she stared up at the sunset, worry still bursting through on her face. She rubbed her ankle slowly. It had not been a big liability in the challenge, but was sure to be so later on. Her son Naruto sat by her, picking apart a leaf.

_Kushina: "Things just keep looking worse for me. I just hope Sakura stays true to her word and doesn't vote me out…"_

**Tribal Council, Night 9:**

The tribe marched dutifully into Tribal Council with their lit torches raised high; they hung them on the wall as Iruka gestured them over to the stumps where they would be seated. They all sat down, different degrees of worry etched on their faces.

"Welcome back to Tribal Council, everybody," said Iruka, leaning back in his chair and smiling at the Shodai tribe. "Naruto, I probably know the answer to this already, but does it feel good to lose two immunity challenges in a row?"

"Of course not," answered Naruto, rubbing his temples as he hung his head low. "I hate voting people out. It makes me feel like a jerk. But, hey. As long as we can stay strong in challenges and oust those who bring us here with their slip-ups, we won't have to keep coming here."

Iruka nodded in response before saying, "Well, who do you think is the main mistake-maker this week?"

"Kakashi," said Naruto simply. Kakashi, his face turning a little purple, turned to Naruto with a chilling expression.

"What are you talking about?" spat Kakashi, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth as he leaned towards Naruto from across the row of stumps. "I was the one who lasted the longest! I made a tiny mistake that cost us, but there are people that are ruining us more than me!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, asking, "Well, who is this person dragging us down?" Secretly, he already knew the answer that Kakashi would give.

"Kushina!" He knew it.

"She's not that weak," mumbled Naruto, looking at his mentor angrily. They stared at each for what seemed like eternity until Iruka called out that it was time to vote. "Gai, you're up."

Gai went to vote.

_Gai: ?: Too bad, so sad._

Kakashi went to vote.

Naruto went to vote.

_Naruto: Kakashi: This is what happens when you call out my mother. Sorry, Kakashi-sensei._

Kushina went to vote.

_Kushina: Kakashi: I'm sorry you had to go so soon. Perhaps we'll meet up again?_

Sakura went to vote.

_Sakura: ?: …I'm still pretty speechless. I've no clue what to say with these things._

Iruka went to get the voting urn, and returned with it. "Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

"First vote…Kakashi." Kakashi shrugged.

"Kushina."

"Kakashi."

…

…

…

"Kushina. One vote left." Both Kakashi and Kushina looked on edge.

"Third person voted out of Survivor: Kumo Island…"

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"…Kushina. You need to bring me your torch." Naruto and Kushina were both speechless as they looked at the other three. All of them averted their gazes. Kushina just moaned and hugged her angered son before grabbing her torch and walking up to Iruka.

"Kushina, the tribe has spoken." He snuffed her torch. "It's time for you to go."

Kushina smiled warmly to the four remaining Shodai tribemates in parting as she walked down the dark path to the beach, where the boat leaving the island awaited her.

"Judging by some of the reactions, this is the game's first big blindside. Will the tribe be shaken up by it? Or will you start winning challenges again? We'll have to see. Grab your torches, good night."

The four people snatched up their torches and stalked off into the night, their faces showing heavily varying degrees of sadness…

Kushina's final words: "Oh, well. I saw this coming, to be honest. Well, I'll be brief. I had a great time, and the short time I spent with my son was more happy than I can put into words! I was hoping to spend time with Minato, too, but we can do that back in the Underworld. *giggles* Thanks for having me!"

Who voted who:

Naruto: Kakashi

Sakura: Kushina

Kakashi: Kushina

Gai: Kushina

Kushina: Kakashi

_Drop me a review and tell me how you liked it!_

_~Stay awesome_


	4. This Game is in the Palm of My Hand

_Just a quick note; sorry for the minor shortness of this, it's mostly due to the lack of a reward. The next chapter will be at least a little longer, I promise._

*Ancient Voices plays; names and short clips of the people with those names scroll by, with tribe names cutting in between*

SHODAI:

Naruto Uzumaki

Sakura Haruno

Kakashi Hatake

Maito Gai

NIDAIME:

Sasuke Uchiha

Rock Lee

Tenten

Shikamaru Nara

Juugo

SANDAIME:

Itachi Uchiha

Deidara

Minato Namikaze

Neji Hyuga

Suigetsu Hozuki

Ino Yamanaka

_39 days. Three tribes. One survivor._

**Shodai, Night 9:**

Naruto was very obviously angry as he stomped back into the camp after the surprising Tribal Council, roughly hanging his torch up and walking off towards the woods, looking for some alone time before going to sleep. Sakura made a beeline for her teammate as Gai and Kakashi sleepily wandered into the shelter and immediately started snoozing.

_Naruto: "I'm just so torn up right now. Gai AND Sakura turned on me and voted out my mom. Maybe I was being immature, but my mom's dead! I saw her for, like, ten minutes recently and that was it! This show was my one chance to spend a lot of time with her, and they ruined it. I can't trust them again. Plus Sakura's the weakest link after Mom, she'll just go next."_

_Sakura: "I feel totally bad right now. I just hope Naruto understands."_

Sakura approached Naruto with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. He was crouching by a large oak, seeming to be steaming mad judging simply from his back.

"Er…Naruto?" Sakura asked shakily. Naruto turned around just a little to catch sight of her, then turned away again. Sakura moaned and walked over to the side of him, sitting down next to him.

They were silent for a full five minutes before Sakura finally spoke up. "…I know it must be hard to see your mom go like that."

"This isn't strategy, Sakura," Naruto breathed, looking at her with almost-bloodshot eyes. "This is personal. My mom is dead! Freakin' dead! This was my only chance to see her again, to really get to know her! And I only had nine days. Nine days out here in the hot, muggy wilderness. And it's all because of you."

Sakura cringed. As much as she hated it, he was right. She was thinking of strategy and not really of Naruto's well-being, even if he was being immature. However, she went for that exact direction of Naruto's immaturity, which seemed to make things worse.

"Naruto, you're being a baby," said Sakura simply. "You need to man up just a bit. You DID have nine days with your mother. It's not as bad as you're making it out to be."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was dead silent for a moment before running off to a different part of the woods. Sakura, speechless, was about to follow him before just sighing sadly and heading back to the shelter so she could get some rest.

_Sakura: "I'm way tired, and I think that made me make the biggest screw-up ever with Naruto's feelings. Hopefully time plays its role and heals all wounds."_

**Nidaime, Day 10:**

Lee was sitting by the fire, munching greedily on some steak. No matter how good it tasted, Nidaime was reserving a good portion of the meat reward over time, in order to keep up their energy for challenge to challenge. Lee was indulging himself a little early in the morning, having some of the meat supply before breakfast.

Sasuke walked out of the shelter and saw Lee eating the steak in abundance. He was tempted to snatch it away, but sighed and decided to let him have his meat.

_Sasuke: "I said we should only eat the meat with my permission. Lee went against that rule. Even though he's helpful for us in challenges, if he's going to be this distrusting, I'll have to have a hearty talk with him."_

Lee spotted Sasuke and nodded at him with a smile on his face as he smacked on the sirloin. Sasuke rolled his eyes and went out towards the beach, deciding to have an early swim. Lee finished his big piece of meat and laid back over the grass, groaning delightfully.

_Lee: "I know that Sasuke did not want us to eat any meat without his okay, but I had to eat some. I was starving this morning! I had to have some, I just had to!"_

Juugo stumbled out of the shelter lazily, just waking up, and saw the mini-fridge nearby. Something possessed him, and he went over and grabbed a meaty chicken breast. He hungrily cooked it over the fire for a minute or two before devouring it in record time.

Sasuke came back and gasped at Juugo's eating the chicken. Once Juugo was finished, Sasuke pulled him aside and spoke to him almost as if he were lecturing him.

"Juugo, what are you doing?" Sasuke seethed, his mouth a thin line.

Juugo raised an eyebrow at Sasuke, and replied in a slightly snarky tone, "I was just eating. I'm really hungry, man. I need fuel when all I get to eat most of the time is rice and grapefruit and mangoes. I mean, there's still a ton of it left!"

"Juugo, we kind of need to preserve that," sighed Sasuke, rubbing his temples. "What's with you and Lee? Both of you are brazenly eating the meat without asking me first…"

Juugo rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever." He walked away and left Sasuke alone and a little speechless.

_Sasuke: "I'm specifically surprised at how Juugo's acting. Maybe I am being a bit controlling, but I'm just trying to keep the tribe in line so we don't have to go to Tribal Council. This is totally unlike Juugo. He's usually quiet and willing to follow along with anybody who's smart; like me."_

_Juugo: "I did overreact back there, but it was early in the morning and Sasuke was being unusually controlling with the meat and all. What's wrong with him? I don't mind being a little bossy, but he's taking it to the extreme, really…"_

**Sandaime, Day 10:**

Suigetsu was wandering around camp when Neji came up and grinned at him, striking up a conversation.

"Hey, Suigetsu. What's up?" Neji asked in a bit of a charming way. Suigetsu shrugged and yawned, speeding up a little so as to avoid Neji. Neji sped up as well so he could keep up.

"You know, I have a plan," stated Neji, looking thoughtful. Suigetsu raised an eyebrow and wasted no time in asking the obvious question.

"What plan?" he probed, and Neji smirked. This could be a coup d'etat for the ages, as he saw it.

"I think it might be a good idea to throw the immunity challenge," whispered Neji, leaning in close so Suigetsu could hear him. Suigetsu looked taken aback, staring at Neji in wonder.

"What the heck is going on with you?" Suigetsu asked gruffly, in a quiet voice; or, at least, the most quiet voice he could attain. Neji shook his head expertly and went on. They had stopped walking along now.

"Nothing's going on with me," answered Neji nonchalantly. "Listen; this is our best chance to get out Deidara. He's very feisty and he likes starting arguments, or so it seems. We need an attitude like that out of this camp."

At the moment, Deidara and Ino were yelling at each other about how to place the cooking pot over the fire. Neji pointed this out, and Suigetsu nodded very slowly, still looking a little skeptical.

"The tribe will tear apart at the seams if we don't do this," Neji explained, with a solemn look on his face. "Come on. You in on throwing it?" Neji held out his hand towards Suigetsu. Suigetsu, sighed sadly and, very slowly, shook Neji's hand. Neji smiled and left.

_Suigetsu: "Neji is an idiot. I'm not too sure that I'm gonna go along with him, handshake or not. Isn't the point to stay AWAY from Tribal Council? I don't care if Deidara's annoying, we need to keep a six-strong tribe!_

_Neji: "All according to plan…"_

**Shodai, Night 10: **

Gai, Kakashi, and Sakura looked out into the woods intently. No Naruto as of yet.

"What's wrong with him? Voting out his mom couldn't have hit him this hard," noted Kakashi. "I mean, he's usually so happy…"

Gai nodded slowly, and Sakura gulped shakily. She knew this was partly her fault.

_Sakura: "I shouldn't have been so hard on Naruto. Tough love is good in some instances, and terrible in others. This is one of those times where it was terrible."_

Meanwhile, on the edge of the forest, Naruto was actually gleeful. He had gone because he was mad at Sakura and discouraged about his mom getting the boot, but now he was radiating happiness. It was probably because of what he was holding in his hand.

What was he holding? The hidden immunity idol, of course.

_Naruto: "Okay, only something awesome like this could rejuvenate me. I can't believe this! There was this weirdly plotted pile of dirt over here on the forest's edge. I dug into it, and I found this baby! Oh, man! This is just sweetness! *kisses idol*"_

An hour or two later, Sakura, who had been waiting up for Naruto by the fire, just groaned and decided to go to sleep. She doubted anything like this had happened in Survivor history.

However, just as she got up and strolled over to the shelter, Naruto came running into camp, grinning idiotically like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Naruto! You're here!" Sakura said merrily. Suddenly, Naruto pulled something out of his pocket and shoved it in Sakura's face. She gasped loudly when she realized that what she was squinting at was the idol.

"OH MY GOSH! How'd you find that?" Sakura asked in shock, as Naruto shushed her, looking around carefully.

"Look, I was really hurt earlier," whispered Naruto, at ease when he realized Gai and Kakashi were both sound asleep and had not even stirred. "But I'm fine now. In fact, I'm fantastic now. No worries, the past is behind us." Sakura nodded in understanding. "And anyway, you want it? What's mine is yours here, really."

Sakura thought it over for a second before nodding and holding out her hand. She giggled happily as Naruto slapped the idol right down onto her palm. She pocketed it and skipped back into the shelter for the night. Naruto stayed behind and tended to the fire for a few minutes.

_Sakura: "This is unbelievable! Naruto's back, all better, AND he gave me an idol! I can't believe he managed to find it without any clues! I'm in such good shape right now! The whole game is in the palm of my hand! *holds up idol joyously*"_

**Sandaime, Day 11:**

The Sandaime tribe read the treemail that morning, detailing that they were skipping right to the immunity challenge this time, no reward. They were puzzled, but decided it wasn't an issue.

_Deidara: "The treemail talked about skipping right to immunity, and that it was a challenge of speed. We've got this in the bag. This tribe is all about speed."_

**Immunity Challenge, Day 11:**

The three tribes marched into the challenge area. Iruka stood there waiting for them in his usual ensemble.

"Hi, guys," said Iruka with a smile. "Nidaime, Sandaime, take a look at the new Shodai tribe. Kushina voted out last Tribal Council." Minato looked pained, but tried not to show it to Naruto.

"Anyways, you guys ready for today's immunity challenge?" Everyone nodded. "All right, then. This one isn't quite as simple as the hot potato challenge. You see, there are two colored buoys for your tribe out in the water. You will have two members act as retrievers, swimming out there and grabbing the buoys for your tribe. Once they get back, they'll hand them off to one member acting as the connector. They will run over and try to figure where the two buoys line up in a line of your tribe's colored buoys. Once they do that, the member selected as the climber will climb up a fake rock wall, bringing the buoy line along with him. If a buoy falls off, they must reattach it and start over. First two tribes to have their climber atop the rock wall with every buoy on there as well win immunity.

"Now, select your retrievers, connector, and climber, and we'll get started," said Iruka.

Shodai:

Retrievers: Gai, Naruto

Connector: Sakura

Climber: Kakashi

Nidaime:

Retrievers: Lee, Tenten

Connector: Shikamaru

Climber: Juugo

Sandaime:

Retrievers: Minato, Deidara

Connector: Suigetsu

Climber: Itachi

"Survivors ready...?" began Iruka, as the six retrievers waited. "…GO!"

They all immediately ran out into the water, with Lee getting the biggest lead, getting to his buoy and turning to head back to shore in just one minute. Naruto and Minato were right behind him. Gai and Tenten were having slight trouble, and Deidara was putting on a pretty average performance.

Lee kept moving fast, taking even less time to get to shore and give his buoy to Shikamaru. Tenten was taking a lot more time, just now getting to her buoy while Minato handed his buoy off and Naruto neared shore. Gai finally got his buoy and Tenten was less than halfway across; Deidara was almost exactly halfway through. Tenten, wanting to gain a lead, tried to move faster than Deidara, but was toppled by a wave and went under.

"Tenten!" Lee screeched, his eyes wide in shock. Gai and Neji looked nearly as concerned.

Luckily, she came up okay, gasping for air as she continued to keep swimming, looking like she was struggling. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

However, Naruto passed his buoy to Sakura just as this happened, and she got started on the buoys. She tried untying and tying in different places, looking towards Iruka, but Iruka shook his head on each of these times. She moaned and kept trying different combinations, trying to find patterns.

Now Deidara reached shore and Suigetsu began. Before trying anything, he looked over the buoys and stared at each of them down the line. He saw notches on the two buoys, and saw notches on two others; he tied them to each other accordingly. He glanced at Iruka.

"Itachi can begin climbing!" shouted Iruka. Almost the whole Sandaime tribe was thrilled, and Ino was cheering on the sidelines; although Neji was angered at Suigetsu for not following through with the plan to throw it. Tenten had handed off her buoy and Shikamaru had begun. He noticed the way Suigetsu had solved it and did it much quicker than him. Sakura followed Shikamaru's lead, and soon all three climbers were in motion. Itachi had the lead, with Kakashi not far behind. Juugo was slower, but was tailing Kakashi very closely.

Itachi was far up the wall when a buoy fell off. Ready to tear his hair out despite his calm demeanor, he jumped down and messily tied it back. He started again, and was halfway up when Kakashi reached the top, snaking all the buoys up. Itachi went as fast as he possibly could. Juugo looked to the side nervously, seeing Itachi gain good ground on him.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had the whole buoy line up with him. Iruka announced it, "SHODAI WINS IMMUNITY!"

The whole Shodai tribe went crazy, Kakashi included. The four members rushed over to Iruka and gleefully grabbed the top half of the immunity idol, raising it high in the air. Their screaming, however, couldn't break Itachi and Juugo's focus.

"Itachi and Juugo, literally neck-and-neck!" yelled Iruka, watching intently. "Itachi's made a huge comeback here! Juugo doing the best he can, not nearly as fast as Itachi, though! Juugo falls behind a little, but he gets back up to Itachi's level! Oh, man!"

The two got on to the top of the wall at almost the exact same time, with Juugo pulling himself up there about a quarter of a second before Itachi. They began snaking the buoy lines up the wall to them, and one got all the buoys up just barely faster, as judged by Iruka…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"SANDAIME WINS IMMUNITY!" screamed Iruka. Itachi looked utterly ecstatic as he leaped to the ground and congregated with his tribemates, all cheering insanely. Eleven days in and not one Tribal Council.

Meanwhile, Juugo just flung the whole buoy line to the ground in frustration, jumping down and standing around glumly with his own tribemates. The sat-out Sasuke was steaming mad about the loss, like he usually was about the tribe's losses.

"Nidaime, I'm afraid that means Tribal Council for you guys tonight," said Iruka to the tribe of five. "See you there. You can all head back to camp."

They all did so, with everyone feeling mostly different about the wins and losses.

**Nidaime, Day 11:**

Sasuke and Juugo were walking through the jungle, discussing the vote tonight.

"All right, I have no idea who to vote for," sighed Sasuke, rubbing his temples as he walked through the underbrush with Juugo. Juugo raised an eyebrow at him, not understanding what he was talking about.

"What do you mean? Isn't it an obvious choice for Shikamaru?" Juugo asked incredulously. Sasuke scoffed and grinned evilly at his ally.

"Nah," stated Sasuke. "You see, there's a decent reason to vote for each of them. Shikamaru is really lazy and he's on the outs, but he's very smart. Did you see that last reward challenge? We promised to keep Tenten safe, but she's a general weak link all around. And Lee is disrespectful and refuses to listen to me, even though I'm pretty much our established leader."

_Juugo: "I really am getting a little fed up with Sasuke. His cocky attitude and insistence on being the leader can get irritating, along with his willingness to just throw Lee to the side because of that incident with the meat. But, he's the best ally I could have in this game. So I just gotta stick with him. If not for him I might be the one to go tonight because of my screw-up."_

Suddenly, Shikamaru made his approach out of nowhere, smiling softly at the duo. They looked cautious as he nodded at them and began speaking.

"All right, look," said the lazy ninja. "I know I'm sort of on the outside of camp, but I'm willing to write Tenten's name down tonight if you guys are. In fact, I'll just vote with whoever you guys want. Echoing another player, long as it ain't me."

Sasuke thought for just a few seconds before nodding at Shikamaru. "All right. Tenten tonight. No lies, no cover-up." Shikamaru returned the nod and stuck out his hand. After it was shook, he returned to camp.

"What just happened?" hissed Juugo quietly, gritting his teeth. "We promised Lee that we would keep Tenten safe! Are you lying to him?"

"No," said Sasuke simply. "Like I said, no lies. No cover-up. Put Tenten's name down on the parchement tonight, and everything will be right as rain. She's a little weaker than Shikamaru. Best to oust her first."

Juugo was pretty much speechless as Sasuke walked off, continuing his leisurely stroll.

_Juugo: "I'm not quite ready to betray Tenten. If I follow along with backstabbings like this and make it really far, people will tie me to Sasuke even though he's the one who came up with all this…or maybe I'm thinking about this too deeply?"_

Shikamaru then quickly ran it by Lee and Tenten that the votes were going to Sasuke tonight. They both agreed, and Shikamaru left, feeling very confident about the vote.

_Shikamaru: "I'm a mastermind. And I play the part so brilliantly."_

Tenten felt just as confident, and so she decided to do something daring. She sauntered up to Sasuke and taunted him, grinning maliciously.

"Guess what, 'alpha male?'" Tenten asked mockingly, putting her hands behind her back and smiling calmly at Sasuke. He rolled his eyes at her, and she continued.

"You're going home tonight!" Tenten proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips; Sasuke was visibly surprised. "We have the numbers! There's no way out for you, my friend! I have no trouble bragging about it to you! I'm tired of you being so bossy!"

Sasuke looked alarmed. "Since when did you have the numbers? There's just you and Lee!" Lucky for them, no one else was around. They were all gathering wood or fruit.

"Oh, no! We have Shikamaru, too!" said Tenten slyly, looking like she was savoring every millisecond of this.

"Shikamaru told us it was you tonight!" yelled Sasuke, and Tenten was totally caught off guard by that.

They were silent for a few minutes, before both yelling, "WHAT?" at each other.

**Tribal Council, Night 11:**

The Nidaime tribe walked into Tribal Council, carrying their torches high. Iruka observed them all as they hung their torches up and all sat down.

"Welcome back to Tribal Council, Nidaime tribe," greeted Iruka. "Lee, did it come as a big surprise when you lost the challenge today? Or not?"

"It was a pretty big surprise, for I, at least," replied Lee, looking grim. "I managed to get us a rather large lead at the start of the challenge, and then I suppose things simply fell apart. I could not really do anything."

Iruka nodded and asked, "Well, Shikamaru. You solved the puzzle pretty quickly after Suigetsu did it, so I don't think fault for this loss really lies with you for this loss. If anyone incited it, who would you have to call out?"

Shikamaru thought about that for just a moment before he answered with, "Well, I don't think any votes will be going his way, but it's not too far off the mark to say that Juugo's sluggishness was a pretty essential thing in us losing." Juugo shrugged.

"Juugo, it almost seems like you're agreeing with that," noted Iruka, looking curious.

"Well, I kind of do," admitted Juugo, looking pretty detached. "I agree in saying I…THINK no votes will be going my way tonight, so I don't have much fear in admitting that yeah, I was kind of the weak link; in that challenge, at least."

Iruka nodded slowly. "Well, it's time to vote. Lee, you're up first."

Lee went to vote.

Shikamaru went to vote.

_Shikamaru: Sasuke: You're way too bossy and controlling. It's time for you to go._

Sasuke went to vote.

_Sasuke: ?: Wow. Just wow._

Tenten went to vote.

Juugo went to vote.

"I'll tally the votes." Iruka went to get the voting urn, and returned with it. "Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

"First vote…Sasuke." Shikamaru nodded, and Sasuke was a little caught off guard.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Shikamaru." Shikamaru looked totally flabbergasted now. He leaned forward, as if he wanted to hear that again.

"Shikamaru. Two votes Shikamaru, one vote Sasuke."

…

…

"Fourth person voted out of Survivor: Kumo Island…Shikamaru. You need to bring me your torch." Shikamaru just shook his head and sighed at his tribemates. He grabbed his torch and walked up to Iruka.

"Shikamaru, the tribe has spoken." He snuffed his torch. "It's time for you to go."

Shikamaru didn't acknowledge anyone as he left the area, stalking off into the dark. Sasuke just smirked as the lazy genius walked away. He never saw it coming.

"Well, Shikamaru certainly wasn't expecting that, or so it seems," Iruka pointed out, addressing the four Nidaime members. "Was he just too smart? Too physically weak? Too threatening? I'm not sure, but I am sure that you all know the answer. Grab your torches, good night."

They marched off like usual, none of them feeling too bad about booting the mastermind…

Shikamaru's final words: "Why in the world did I get voted out? No, wait, this is my actual question...HOW did I get voted out? Did they find out my double play? Maybe everybody was tricking me and got rid of me because I was the weakest? I've no idea. Guess I'll just have to accept my fate. *sighs*"

Who voted who:

Shikamaru: Sasuke

Sasuke: Shikamaru

Tenten: Shikamaru

Lee: Shikamaru

Juugo: Shikamaru

_Well, Shikamaru is gone. They discovered him. Maybe a few of you don't like that? Oh well._

_Naruto, Ino, and Sakura all tied in the poll. I don't know why they got votes, but they did. :P Anyways, please review! Thanks for reading!_

_~Stay awesome_


	5. The Arrogant Bad Guy

*Ancient Voices plays; names and short clips of the people with those names scroll by, with tribe names cutting in between*

SHODAI:

Naruto Uzumaki

Sakura Haruno

Kakashi Hatake

Maito Gai

NIDAIME:

Sasuke Uchiha

Rock Lee

Tenten

Juugo

SANDAIME:

Itachi Uchiha

Deidara

Minato Namikaze

Neji Hyuga

Suigetsu Hozuki

Ino Yamanaka

_39 days. Three tribes. One survivor._

**Nidaime, Night 11:**

There was no surprise or shock from anyone about the night's vote when everyone got back to camp. They all just settled down in the shelter and drifted off to sleep, the only real emotion genuinely enveloping each of them being sleepiness.

_Tenten: "As soon as Sasuke and I figured out that Shikamaru was playing pretty much everyone on the tribe, he had to go. We told Lee and Juugo just minutes before we left and that was that. I'm glad he's gone, anyway. He was way lazy and was no help at all in physical challenges."_

**Shodai, Day 12:**

The four Shodai members were sitting by the fire calmly, eating a spot of breakfast. Naruto looked concerned; in fact, he almost looked a little paranoid.

_Naruto: "I'm really wondering whether or not it was a good move to give Sakura my idol now. The whole "what's mine is yours" philosophy is good, but only if you have a completely tight alliance. My alliance isn't completely tight. They already betrayed me once, what if they do it again?"_

Meanwhile, Gai got up from the fire and bounded over to the water canteen. He began guzzling water down like nobody's business, and Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi looked a little concerned as they stared at him drinking the water. Suddenly, the gulping sound disappeared, and only drips poured down into Gai's mouth. Gai threw the canteen to the side.

"Gai, what did you just do?" Sakura asked ragefully, stalking up to him and gritting her teeth.

"I…guess I drank the rest of the water," replied Gai, looking away to the empty canteen on the ground. "I was really thirsty. Oh, well."

"Gai! We were supposed to preserve that!" scolded Sakura, clenching her fists at her side. "You can't just go wasting the cold water supply! Now we'll have to boil ocean water! I thought we could keep all our cold water!"

Sakura went on bickering at Gai until he just walked off, not caring anymore. Sakura was totally shocked.

_Gai: "I don't understand Sakura's deal. So I drank some cold water. So what? She's making this into way more than it needs to be…"_

_Sakura: "Ugh, I'm just so disgusted with Gai right now. He KNEW we were supposed to not drink much water. What is wrong with him? Maybe I'm being a bit of a control freak, but I'm totally PO'ed because the cold water's gone…"_

**Nidaime, Day 12:**

Lee was taking a hearty jog down the beach when he noticed Juugo coming up behind him. He slowed down and moved to the side to make room, as it seemed as if Juugo wanted to talk.

"I've been thinking," said Juugo, some mild panting mixed into his speech. "I just…there's something I've been wanting to do for a while now. But I knew I would be dead if I tried, because it just didn't work with my strategy. But now…I think I'm ready to pull it off."

A confused Lee just stared at him, waiting for an explanation. Just that thing was given to him.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Sasuke returned with a single trout stuck onto the end of his fishing spear. He looked triumphant and a little smug as he showed it to Tenten; he also showed it to Juugo and Lee when they got back to camp a few mere moments later.

"The fish have been dry the last two days. How'd you do it?" Juugo asked quietly, looking baffled. Sasuke grinned and shook his head.

"Skill. It's all about skill." He left it at that and left the fish near the fire so they could have it with some meat later.

"Wait…do we even need fish with the meat supply we currently hold?" Lee pointed out once Sasuke was out of range.

Juugo and Tenten were unable to really give him an answer, which was pretty much all the answer he needed.

_Lee: "I am hungry for steak, not trout! I am tired of conserving these delicious morsels! I am quite starving! QUITE!"_

A little later that day, Tenten was sitting down alone in the shelter, and a lot of thoughts were rushing around through her head, troubling her deeply.

_Tenten: "I've made no big moves in this game so far. Blindsiding Shikamaru wasn't an enormous deal because that was kinda a tribe effort. To make the merge, you gotta prove that you're a force to be reckoned with, and I haven't done anything to show that. Plus I'm the weakest member of the tribe…dang."_

Ultimately, Tenten decided she would, in fact, do something huge. She waltzed out of the shelter and, while no one was looking, she grabbed a nearby stick and swiftly wrote a message in the sand. She made sure to put it in scrawly handwriting so it wasn't recognizable as hers.

**I'm going after you, Sasuke.**

**Lee**

Content, she threw the stick to the side and dusted her hands off, heading back into the shelter. Just her luck; right at that moment, after she was in the shelter, Sasuke noticed the message and gaped, unable to believe his eyes.

"Lee!" he exclaimed, gritting his teeth. He ran over to the bowl-haired youth and gripped his shoulder, catching him by surprise.

"W-what is it, Sasuke?" Lee asked nervously, shaken up by Sasuke's sudden, rough appearance. It didn't help that Sasuke looked unhappy and enraged.

"What is this?" he asked, brandishing towards the message in the sand. Completely puzzled, Lee got up slowly and trudged over to the writing in the sand. After taking a few long minutes to look over it, he simply glanced over at Sasuke and shook his head.

"I did not write that," was what he followed it up with.

"What are you talking about? It's in your messy handwriting!" Sasuke insisted, refusing to let up on Lee. Now Lee decided to go on the offensive, standing up and steaming with anger.

"Listen, I am tired of you pushing me around, Sasuke!" yelled Lee, jabbing his finger into Sasuke's muscular chest. "You are not the boss around here, and you cannot tell me what to do like I am some kind of butler! Just shut up!" And with that, an unusually impolite Lee stormed off, not waiting for a reply.

_Lee: "SASUKE! IS! INFURIATING!_

_Sasuke: "I think I infuriate people out here. Oh, well. There needs to be a defined leader, and I'm the best person for the job."_

**Sandaime, Night 12:**

Itachi was up in a high tree-branch, watching intently. Deidara and Ino were actually having a polite conversation. No raised voices, no mean words, no purple faces. The mere concept of such a thing befuddled him.

"Hey, Deidara, can you hand me the water canteen?" Ino asked with a light smile. Deidara nodded pleasantly and handed her the item. After she quenched her thirst, she thanked him in a civilized manner.

"You confused, too?" Neji asked, smirking. Itachi nodded slowly, taking a sluggish bite out of a mango. Neji pulled himself up to Itachi's branch and sat down beside him. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, watching the conversation.

Soon enough, Minato and Suigetsu climbed up next to them, joining the parade of disbelief as it continued. Ino and Deidara, not screaming their heads off at each other.

They were so shocked that they didn't notice that there were too many people hoisted up on the branch. The branch creaked and groaned, trying to tell the occupants to get off. When they didn't, it couldn't take it anymore. It fell to the murky ground and sent them all tumbling down with it.

Ino and Deidara quickly whirled around, ready to attack some kind of bear. However, all they saw were their four other tribemates, scrambling to get up and go to sleep.

As soon as the four of them were are lying down in the shelter, the duo just shrugged and followed suit. However, they were both rather baffled at whatever had just happened.

_Deidara: "Me and Ino finally make peace, and now the rest of the tribe starts acting like total weirdos? This camp just can't stay quiet, can it?"_

**Reward Challenge, Day 13:**

The three tribes stalked into the challenge area, standing in front of Iruka on their colored mats. He smiled at them and greeted them with, "Hi, guys." They all nodded at him in response.

"All right, first things first, Shodai and Sandaime. Take a look at the new Nidaime tribe." Iruka flourished his hand over at Nidaime, and the eyes of ten contestants turned to them, following his hand. "Shikamaru voted out at the last Tribal Council." Ino looked completely shocked, and Naruto and Sakura showed fairly mild surprise.

"Well. You guys ready for today's reward challenge?" Everyone nodded, this time in agreement. Iruka turned to three large cannons. Everyone was caught off-guard, not expecting to see something like this.

"You all see rather dangerous things each day, so I don't think we'll need much alarm about this challenge," said Iruka, trying to ease their fears. "This challenge is fairly simple. I will give you all three minutes to deliberate on trajectory, aim, size of cannonball; there are four different sizes you can use; and the like. Then, each tribe will fire, one at a time. The tribe with the longest distance wins reward.

"Wanna know what you're playing for?" Yet more nodding. In response, Iruka took something out of his green vest. They all dropped their jaws.

"The Medallion of Power!" exclaimed Iruka, smiling brightly as he dangled the large necklace in front of the survivors. "Win this, and you have the option to use it and gain an advantage at the immunity challenge tomorrow. With this, you have good chances of gaining immunity next time. Worth playing for?"

Everybody shouted, "Yes!" eagerly.

"All right, let's begin."

The tribes quickly began adjusting their cannons and firing off their opinions on how they should fire it. Iruka watched silently, noticing some problems in the aiming of a few teams. It wasn't long before an argument broke out.

"Sasuke, why do not you take some input from the team?" Lee asked angrily, glaring at Sasuke. He caught the interest of a few opposing contestants.

"What is wrong with you?" Sasuke retaliated, shoving Lee a little. "You just ruthlessly attack me 24/7! You're the reason this team sees me as the arrogant bad guy!"

"YOU ARE THE ARROGANT BAD GUY!" Lee screamed.

They began to fight until Iruka broke it up and announced that time was up; no more changing aim or trajectory, and no more discussion. Juugo and Tenten were considerably angry at the fighting duo for cutting their time short.

Shodai lit their fuse at Iruka's command, plugging their ears with their fingers as everybody backed away, waiting for the cannonball to fire.

"KRA-BOOOOOOOOM!" the big black ball screeched as it hurled through the air, launched into the sky and down the large beach. They watched intently as it finally landed, having made it a good ways away. Crew members ran down the beach to make the official measurements.

After hearing from the crew, Iruka announced, "Shodai nailed a healthy 69 meters!"

They all clapped cheerfully, believing that to be a good distance to beat. Iruka then said it was time for Nidaime's turn; Sasuke tried to secretly adjust the aim, but Iruka stopped him, and he moaned unhappily as he lit the fuse to the cannon and backed away.

The screeching sound was lower and more muted this time, and it obviously landed a lot shorter than Shodai's ball. Juugo and Tenten shook their heads in disappointment while Lee and Sasuke glared at each other, both clearly blaming the other.

"Nidaime scored 38 meters!" yelled Iruka. "Clearly, they are out of the running for the reward! It all comes down to Sandaime!"

Ino nodded slowly and lit the provided match. She swiftly dropped it on the fuse, and the whole tribe backed up, watching intently. Deidara appeared to be praying silently.

...

…

It went screaming off into the air, sailing a good distance…

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"65 meters! Just BARELY not enough!" yelled Iruka, as Shodai flipped out in happiness. "SHODAI WINS REWARD!"

Iruka gingerly stepped over to Sakura and held up the Medallion of Power; she leaned her neck down and let the large necklace be placed around her neck. Her teammates cheered and clapped as she brandished the impressive medallion to them, with the other two tribes watching enviously.

"Well, that's all for today," said Iruka with a nod. "I'll see you guys tomorrow for immunity; where Shodai can choose whether or not they'd like to use their new Medallion of Power. You can all head back to camp."

They all nodded and began the trek back, Sasuke and Lee still glaring at each other all the way back…

**Shodai, Day 13:**

The Shodai tribe returned to camp, and Naruto tended to the small fire while Kakashi took Gai aside and spoke to him.

"Look, Naruto and Sakura are obviously in cahoots," said Kakashi gruffly, gritting his teeth. "And even though you're our best at challenges, they might want you out next because of the incident with the water yesterday. So, I suggest that…"

"Huh? They won't get me out." Gai looked rather confused. He scratched his back and tilted his head at Kakashi, who suddenly became confused himself.

"Well, you have to be prepared for anything," explained Kakashi, in a matter-of-fact tone. "Like I said, I know you're our challenge beast, but the water might—"

"I'm in an alliance with them!" Gai declared, holding his right fist to his chest. "You're gonna go next if we lose the next challenge!"

Kakashi looked absolutely dumbfounded. "W-w-whaaaa?"

"Yeah! We're aligned!" Gai crossed his arms and grinned at Kakashi, who was still attempting to digest this news to the best of his ability. "Hey, wanna have a contest? I mean, we haven't had any lately, so I thought we—"

Kakashi zoomed away, not paying any mind to Gai. Gai kept on talking, yet to notice that Kakashi was gone.

"Hey, Naruto, Sakura!" Kakashi whispered urgently. They were sitting by the warm fire and looked over at him as he approached and stood over them, his eyes looking nearly bloodshot.

"What it is?" Naruto asked with a moan, standing up and stretching his arms and legs. Kakashi began talking animatedly, trying to tell them why Gai should go and not him.

"Listen, I know you guys have Gai in your alliance, but I'm more of an all-around team player than him," said Kakashi, licking his lips. "I'm a little more physically balanced than him. Plus, Gai's too greedy. Did you see the cold water thing? He'd steal more from the tribe, I bet! He's got to go if we lose!"

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, clearly a little confused. Sakura cleared her throat and stated, "Um, Kakashi? Stop freaking out. We'll, uh, think about it." Kakashi just scoffed and stalked off, his fists tightened.

"He's too much of a scrambler," muttered Naruto to Sakura. Sakura nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, too panicked. We can't trust him."

_Sakura: "Kakashi's totally flipping out right now, just because we have an alliance with Gai. I mean, for all I know, I could be voted out if we lose immunity. You can't really trust anyone in this game."_

**Sandaime, Night 13:**

Five members of Sandaime huddled closely in the shelter, desperate for warmth and dryness. The sixth member, Minato, was running back to the shelter with some leaves and sticks to cover the roof, panting heavily as buckets of water dripped down his face. He threw the debris onto the roof, providing extra coverage, before crawling into the now-six-person huddle.

_Neji: "First we lost the reward challenge by a hair, then there's this huge storm tonight… camp morale is really down right now. We haven't lost an immunity challenge yet, but our number might be up tomorrow morning."_

Suigetsu had his arms wrapped around a shivering, teary Ino, trying to lean over her somewhat to cover her. Ino gripped his arm and chattered her teeth ferociously. Deidara, shivering himself, glanced over at them and felt worry.

_Deidara: "Everyone's shocked because me and Ino are on good terms now, but that doesn't mean I don't want her out. She's still the team's weakest member in my opinion, and she's got this twosome with Suigetsu and we've gotta break it up."_

Suddenly, tears started pouring down Ino's face. She half-turned around and buried her face in Suigetsu's chest. He decided he ought to just keep holding her, and did so.

"I can't take this a-anymore," her muffled voice pronounced, and she proceeded to sob with a grimace on her face.

"Don't give up, Ino," whispered Suigetsu, cringing and patting her on the back. The rest of the tribe stared in worry at their torn-up teammate.

_Ino: "I j-just want to go h-home! At least I still have Suigetsu out here… w-wait. Am I… falling for Su-Suigetsu?"_

_Itachi: "I think that if Ino really wants to leave, we might have to fulfill her wishes. Heck, maybe we could throw the challenge tomorrow so she can go home? I dunno… *looks deep in thought*"_

**Nidaime, Night 13:**

It was just about time to head into the shelter and pack in; Juugo had already gone to sleep, having felt exceedingly tired. However, Sasuke and Lee were outside, continuing to fight. Tenten watched from her perch beside the shelter door, slightly guilty but mostly gleeful.

"Listen, if you just admitted that you wrote that stupid message in the sand, I won't have so many problems!" Sasuke spat, getting up close in Lee's face.

"But I shall not lie!" yelled Lee, standing his ground against Sasuke as per usual. "I did not write that message! And you know what? I am VERY hungry! I shall be going over to the mini-fridge and stuffing my face with chicken now!"

Lee proceeded to turn his back on Sasuke and run to the fridge. Sasuke tackled Lee to the ground, making the jumpsuited wonder struggle to break free of his surprisingly strong grasp. Ultimately he managed to shrug Sasuke off and reach the fridge, immediately grabbing a chicken leg or two. He shut the fridge at blinding speed and ran off, Sasuke almost lunging after him but ultimately deciding to just leer in frustration.

_Sasuke: "You know who I REALLY hate in this game right now? LEE! What a disrespectful moron! I didn't really want to sink to his level, but now he's forced me. I've never met someone who I might have had the tiniest shred of respect for before but now think is a total brat. Now I've met one."_

_Tenten: "Now I know I can't come forth and say that I was the one who wrote that message in the sand. Sasuke would bury me and Lee would turn his back on me. Well, I do feel a little bad, but this is just what I wanted. Now the target's off my back, and on to one of theirs. Yahoo!"_

**Immunity Challenge, Day 14:**

The three tribes marched into the challenge area for the immunity challenge, looking over at Iruka as they entered. Today he smiling slyly at them all.

"Hi, guys," said Iruka. "You ready for today's challenge?" Everybody nodded. "All right… today, four members of the tribe will row their designated boat out into the water. They will have a lit torch with them, and they will have to light another, larger torch, in their tribe color, out on the water. Then they will switch out the two torches, row back, and step on their mat. First two tribes to do this win immunity!

"Now, Shodai," said Iruka, turning to the green-buffed tribe. "Would you like to use the Medallion of Power?" They all chirped, "Yes!" eagerly, as Sakura stepped forth and handed the large medallion to Iruka. He pocketed it and smiled at Shodai.

"All right, this gives you the upper hand in the challenge," explained Iruka. "You will NOT have to switch out your torch with the one you light; rather, you may simply keep the lit one you receive and head onto your mat with that." They all cheered, deciding this was a great bonus.

"All right, everybody get into their boats!" Iruka shouted, directing the tribes all down the beach. For Sandaime, Ino and Suigetsu were sat out, while everybody had to participate on both of the opposing tribes.

"All right… Survivors ready?" They all seemed so. "GO!"

The three tribes immediately began rowing to their colored torches, with Nidaime gaining a slight lead due to Juugo and Lee's combined paddling ability. Tenten held the torch precariously high, preparing to light the other one at any moment, while Sasuke stood at the front of the boat, prepared to direct the two rowers and exchange the torches.

With Shodai, Naruto and Gai were rowing, with Sakura lighting and Kakashi leading. The setup was Minato and Deidara, Minato, Neji on Sandaime. Sandaime managed to basically make even with Nidaime, as Sasuke's misconceptions in one instance almost made them crash into Sandaime's boat, thus losing time for them.

Ultimately, though it was a close race, Nidaime pulled ahead again and lit their torch first. Sasuke went as fast he could in exchanging the torches, grabbing the newly lit one and handing it to Tenten as he struggled to plant the formerly lit torch while the boat began slowly drifting away from the torch base due to the fairly strong waves and lack of rowing.

"Sasuke, cutting it close! Leaning over really far there!" declared Iruka, looking out to sea and paying close attention. Then something shocking happened.

Sasuke fell out of the boat, nearly bringing the torch down on top of himself.

Tenten shrieked in fright, falling backwards into the boat from her previous standing position. Lee hurried to catch her as he looked over at Sasuke anxiously; Juugo made haste in rowing back over to him as he gripped the torch base, messily stuffing the torch into the base. As Sasuke climbed back into the boat, Sandaime had just turned around back to shore, a new torch in Minato's hand. Shodai, on the other hand, had Sakura about to light their torch, and they wouldn't need to exchange.

Juugo and Lee went as fast as humanly possible in their attempt to catch up with Sandaime and pull far ahead of Shodai; while they couldn't quite catch up to the Sandaime tribe, Shodai did slow down a little once they lit their torch, so they felt safe. However, Gai did something that was somewhat surprising.

"Hey, put the paddles away!" said Gai boldly, crawling over to the back of the boat. His tribemates gave him some very odd stares.

"W-what?" Naruto asked in total confusion. Gai yelled back at him with, "Just do it!" Naruto shook his head and set the paddles down, as Gai grabbed the rear of the boat and dipped himself in the water, nearly up to his shoulders in water. Then, he rose his body up, so he was on his belly, almost floating as held on to the back of the boat.

Gai proceeded to turn the boat around so their back was to the shore. Sakura was about to scream at him and tell him his delusions had lost them the challenge, but she was too shocked to speak by what he did next.

Just as Sandaime reached shore, Gai began an incredibly quick backstroke, acting as the boat's motor. In about fifteen seconds, they were neck-and-neck with Nidaime in some rather shallow water.

"Gai uses an UNBELIEVABLE technique to propel Shodai back up here!" yelled a baffled-looking Iruka, gripping his head and gaping in amazement. Now that the water was this thin, he climbed back in and began rowing again. Naruto followed his lead, and they pulled slightly ahead of Nidaime.

Just then, Sandaime was on their mat. Iruka looked back over to them and ran up to them, grinning. He declared, "SANDAIME WINS IMMUNITY!" Suigetsu and Ino ran up to the tribe, and they all hugged each other and whooped like idiots. Not one immunity loss! Itachi graciously took the revered top half of the idol.

Meanwhile…

"N-n-noooo!" groaned Sasuke as he noticed that Shodai was slightly ahead, snatching Lee's torch away and rowing madly and quickly. Despite his efforts, Shodai reached shore first. They ran to their mat like demons, and before Nidaime could get out of their boat, Iruka's vocal chords were already belting out the three words none of them wanted to hear;

"SHODAI WINS IMMUNITY!" he screeched; they screeched even louder, very happy that they would not go down to three members that night. Sasuke felt like overturning the boat out of anger; he resorted to punching the water and making it splash high up.

"Nidaime, I'm sorry, but this means that you have a date with me at Tribal Council tonight," said Iruka with noted regret in his voice. "Your amount will go down to half of what you had upon first stepping into your camp on Day 1. See you tonight.

"Anyways, you can all go back to camp." They complied with the host and all walked off.

**Nidaime, Day 14:**

At the Nidaime camp, the warring conflict between Lee and Sasuke continued; they constantly stole mean glares at each other, and in a particular moment of seeming heat, Sasuke stood in front of the mini-fridge so no one could take anything; mainly Lee. Lee felt like lunging at him at this point.

_Lee: "I am usually more polite than this, but Sasuke simply tears me up! He is so irritating, and bossy, and cocky, and unintelligent! I almost HATE him!"_

_Sasuke: "Lee is very rebellious and stupid! He's pretty strong, but he's honestly pissing me off and hurting camp morale more than anything. Plus, he wants me out and refuses to admit it! Why cause drama like that? He better go tonight!"_

Juugo was watching their war from afar, and was very deep in thought. The two would obviously be voting each other tonight, so he had to take a side. The logical thing to do, considering his alliance, was to vote out Lee with Sasuke. But that would force a tie if he laid back… he needed to do something more.

_Juugo: "I can't stick back in the shadows forever. I've got to grab Tenten's vote, and I've got to do it quick. If we both take one side, then we don't have to turn to a tie. That'll be my main argument."_

Juugo got out of the shelter and approached Tenten, who was humming a cheerful tune as she sat on a tree branch, watching the fighting between Sasuke and Lee unfold.

"Listen," he mumbled, climbing up and sitting down beside her. "We need to band together and vote with one of them tonight, so a tie won't happen. Even if it's a choice that one of us doesn't like."

Tenten glanced over at him and nodded in agreement. "I'll have to agree with you… a tie isn't really something I want to see show up tonight…"

"Well, here was my idea," he began, before explaining his brief plan to her. She was a little dumbstruck, but she ultimately agreed to carry it out with him. Once Juugo left, Tenten was left to her own piddling thoughts about what would happen that night.

_Tenten: "Tonight, anything could happen, I think. I think it's possible it might end up as a tie after all…"_

**Tribal Council, Night 14:**

The four members of Nidaime walked into Tribal Council, holding their torches high. Iruka nodded curtly at them as they hung their torches up and sat down on the stumps in front of the fire.

"Hey, guys," greeted Iruka, facing them and giving them a slight smile. "It must not be pleasant to be here again, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Juugo, how do you feel about it yourself?"

"It sucks hard, to be honest," moaned Juugo, holding his face in his left hand. "I mean, I think we should be doing way better at challenges. We've got these stronger guys with me, Sasuke, Lee. It's a bit of a puzzler for me, really."

"Tenten, you didn't seem to be included in that list," said Iruka curiously, turning to her now. "Does that make you the weakest member of the tribe?"

"Umm…" Tenten hesitated, biting her lower lip. She eventually answered with, "No, I, um, don't think so." Sasuke rolled his eyes. Iruka noticed this gesture, and asked him about it.

"She IS the tribe's weakest member," scoffed Sasuke. "The fact that she won't even admit it tells me something, to be honest."

"What does it tell you?" inquired Iruka, leaning forward. Sasuke didn't seem to really want to answer that, but he did so anyway, for the sake of being punctual.

"Well, there are really bigger fish to fry," he began, "but it honestly tells me that she's the tribe's weakest competitor as well as a liar." Tenten gave him a death glare to match no other.

"You know what? Just shut up!" snapped Tenten, staring daggers at Sasuke. "I'm NOT the weakest member of the tribe! I mean, I'm pretty smart! I'm willing to bet that—"

"PLEASE, stop this fighting!" shouted Juugo, gripping his head. "We're gonna be on the same team for a while! Under these conditions we'll kill each other before long!" They were all affected by his words, and everyone, including Lee, who had yet to even speak, kept quiet. Noticing this, Iruka gestured to Juugo and said, "Well, time to , up first."

He nodded and got up, striding up to the voting booth

Lee went to vote.

_Lee: Sasuke: You are not fit to be a leader. It is time for you to be canned. *puts vote in, makes a ker-plunk noise as he slams the lid down*_

Sasuke went to vote.

_Sasuke: Lee: You are totally disobedient and rebellious. Plus you wasted our meat. Bye._

Tenten went to vote.

_Tenten: ?: Might regret it later. *shrugs, places vote in*_

Juugo went to vote.

"I'll tally the votes," said Iruka, once everyone had voted. He returned with the voting urn, saying the usual, "Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

Iruka took out the first vote and flipped it over. "Sasuke." The voted-for shrugged nonchalantly.

"Lee."

"Sasuke. Two votes Sasuke." Sasuke shrugged again.

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"…Fifth person voted out of Survivor… Sasuke. You need to bring me your torch."

Sasuke looked like he couldn't believe what was happening as he slowly grabbed his bags without looking. He glared over at Juugo, his face flickering with confusion and anger. Juugo mouthed, "Sorry," as a response.

Sasuke just shook his head vengefully as he got up, snatched away his torch, and stomped up to Iruka.

"Sasuke, the tribe has spoken." Iruka snuffed Sasuke's torch. "It's time for you to go." Sasuke shook his head and glared at Juugo again before he headed out. Lee looked incredibly pleased during all this.

"Well, it looks like the supposed leader of this tribe has been abolished," said Iruka, looking at three remaining Nidaime members. "If you guys can't do well now, you may find yourselves without a blue buff. Grab your torches, good night."

Though the three couldn't quite wrap their heads around his last statement, they just sighed and left with their torches, as Iruka stared into the glowing coals of the fire…

Who voted who:

Lee: Sasuke

Sasuke: Lee

Tenten: Sasuke

Juugo: Sasuke

Sasuke's final words: "I cannot BELIEVE Juugo turned on me! I thought for sure we were heading into a tie, which I could handle; and he decides to be a coward and vote me out with that blasted Lee? Oh, well... he'll get his just desserts. I had fun out here, even if it was cut too short. Now, I must get back to my plans to destroy Konoha... goodbye! *snickers*"

_Sorry I took so long. And to think, I finally update as I begin my official day-after-Thanksgiving all-nighter. :P Thanks for reading! Reviews would be really schweet!_

_~Stay awesome_


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